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arrival and accomodation information syllabus project introduction daily schedule general city + cultural information subway map metamaps financial district/tribeca lower east side west village east village chelsea + meatpacking district little italy, chinatown, and nolita soho gramercy MIDTOWN UPPER EAST SIDE UPPER WEST SIDE harlem, morningside DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN
contents
park slope fort greene williamsburg red hook GOWANUS historical city maps other resources
Veronica Acosta Chelsea Brandt William Brantley John Caveney Gabrielle Conlon Evaline Dadulla JD Gutermuth Scott Keyes Julia Lewis John Oxenfeld
Aaron Peter Adam Roark Lena Roper Audrey Sloan Ellis Taylor Alex Tomlinson Henry Wilkinson
Penn Station, Amtrak TBD, June 20th, 2:30pm Penn Station, Amtrak 194, June 20th, 4:30pm La Guardia Airport, Delta 1786, June 20th, 12:08pm Grand Central Station, TBD, June 20th, TBD La Guardia Airport, USair 3648, June 20th, 1:00pm La Guardia Airport, USair 3871, June 20th, 1:26pm Penn Station, Amtrak TBD, June 20th, TBD La Guardia Airport, Spirit Air NK404, June 20th, 2:00pm Penn Station, Amtrak 176, June 16th, 3:18pm La Guardia Airport, USair, June 17th, TBD
arrival
info
TBD Penn Station, Amtrak TBD, June 20th, 2:31pm La Guardia Airport, United 1553, June 20th, 1:39pm Driving Penn Station, Amtrak 194, June 20th, 4:30pm TBD Penn Station, Amtrak TBD, June 20th, 2:55pm
From La Guardia Airport: Taxi: Expect a $35-40 fare to lower Manhattan. Driving time varies greatly with traffic. A fast ride will be about 20 minutes. When you enter the cab, simply tell them you’re going to Manhattan, and give our address; 56 Walker St.. If they ask where it is, just say Tribeca. If you want to save some cash, just take the bus. Purchase a single ride Metrocard ($2.25) in the airport (you can get one from any vendor) or as you enter the bus. The M60 will take you into Manhattan. The bus stop is very close to the taxi stand. You’ll want to exit the bus at Lexington and 125th st.. (Just press the yellow tape on the bus to request a stop). When you get off the bus, look for the subway stair. It’ll be right on the corner. You’ll want to be on the East side of the street to get the downtown line. Use your card again (you get one free transfer) and take the 6 downtown to Canal St.. This express (4/5) line will get you there much faster, but you’ll have to switch to the 6 local at 14th st.. Exit the train at Canal St.. When you surface, walk one block south to Walker and two and a half blocks West. 56 Walker will be on your right.
Veronica Acosta Chelsea Brandt William Brantley John Caveney Gabrielle Conlon Evaline Dadulla JD Gutermuth Scott Keyes Julia Lewis John Oxenfeld
Dave Lee Aaron Peter Adam Roark Lena Roper Audrey Sloan Ellis Taylor Alex Tomlinson Henry Wilkinson
phone.list
From Penn Station: If you’re starting here, you’re accustomed to trains already so I’ll be brief. Take the A train downtown to Canal St.. Walk south on Ave of the Americas (AKA, 6th Ave) 2 blocks and turn left on Walker St.. Cross Church St. and 56 Walker is ahead on the left.
From Grand Central Station: Again, I’ll be brief here. Take the 6 train downtown to Canal St.. When you surface, walk one block south to Walker and two and a half blocks West...56 Walker will be on your right.. 843.356.1484 757.642.2082 850.982.9042 978.852.8300 724.799.4504 843.597.0980 404.276.5785 843.991.5452 434.242.5152 803.389.8593
917.405.4707 864.423.0848 843.453.2712 864.735.5104 903.654.7827 615.426.7632 864.270.6099 240.277.7125
56 Walker St.
studio new york meeting times faculty catalog description course objectives NAAB criteria studio culture printing, plotting, presentations desk crits + reviews sustainable design intellectual resources
syllabus sketchbooks, journals, metamaps final documentation house work attendance academic integrity grading + evaluation other information + resources
ARCH 351/850: Studio New York ARCH 351/850 (6 credits) • 56 Walker St, 5th floor, New York, NY 10013 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: 10am–1pm, 2pm-5pm Faculty Prof. Dave Lee • dlee2@clemson.edu • 917-405-4707 Graduate Assistant John Oxenfeld • joxenfe@clemson.edu • Catalog Descriptions ARCH 351 Studio Clemson 6 (1,11). Addresses architectural problems with varied scales, programs, and locations. Emphasizes the relationship between architecture and context. Projects include analysis, conceptual development, and architectonic resolutions. Continued development of graphic and oral communication skills. Design problems vary every semester according to current issues. May be repeated for a maximum of 18 credits. Preq: ARCH 252. ARCH 850 Architecture Studio 6 (0,18). Architectural design studies in the context of the New York urban setting. May substitute for ARCH 853 or 854 and for ARCH 857 with consent of advisor.
Course Objectives and Outcomes Living and working in an off-campus environment has unique advantages and opportunities for an architecture student. Architecture, itself, is predicated on the culture and context of which it is immersed. Studio NYC offers a truly unique culture and context as your design laboratory. With a rich and well preserved architectural background you will have the opportunity to explore firsthand the constructed environment of one of the world’s most influential cities. You will also find, in New York, a truly unique and remarkable diversity of cultural confluence. It is through the careful investigation of this culture that you will be able to shape a meaningful experience and fold that experience back on your architectural pursuits. For architecture does not exist without a willing participant. By the end of this course you will have: (in addition to and/or more specifically outlined from the NAAB criteria listed in the following section) • Understood the fundamental architectural history of New York and its contemporary trajectories • Created behavioral maps of various NYC activities and, through this activity, gained a greater comprehension of the diversity of NYC and impact of socially engaging architecture • Completed research of the Gowanus community of Brooklyn, NY including environmental survey • Understood, fundamentally, zoning code regulations and (in particular) their potential impact on the Gowanus neighborhood • Understood the fundamentals of neighborhood planning and constituent influence • Proposed a master plan for the Gowanus precinct including environmental remediation and culturally sensitive activity • Proposed a new building within the aforementioned Gowanus precinct plan that serves to engage, enrich, and enliven the Gowanus community. • Use parametric and algorithmic tools to aid in research and design
NAAB (National Architectural Accrediting Board) Criteria Arch 351/850 introduces the following National Architecture Accrediting Board (www.naab.org) criteria as considered appropriate for the current year level: 2. Critical Thinking Skills Ability to raise clear and precise questions, use abstract ideas to interpret information, consider diverse points of view, reach well-reasoned conclusions, and test them against relevant criteria and standards. 3. Graphics Skills Ability to use appropriate representational media, including freehand drawing and computer technology, to convey essential formal elements at each stage of the programming and design process. 4. Research Skills Ability to gather, assess, record, and apply relevant information in architectural coursework. 5. Formal Ordering Systems Understanding of the fundamentals of visual perception and the principles and systems of order that inform two- and three-dimensional design, architectural composition, and urban design. 6. Fundamental Design Skills Ability to use basic architectural principles in the design of buildings, interior spaces, and sites. 7. Collaborative Skills Ability to recognize the varied talent found in interdisciplinary design project teams in professional practice and work in collaboration with other students as members of a design team 8. Western Traditions Understanding of the Western architectural canons and traditions in architecture, landscape and urban design, as well as the climatic, technological, socioeconomic, and other cultural factors that have shaped and sustained them. 10. National and Regional Traditions Understanding of national traditions and the local regional heritage in architecture, landscape design and urban design, including the vernacular tradition. 11. Use of Precedent Ability to incorporate relevant precedents into architecture and the urban design projects. 12. Human Behavior Understanding of the theories and methods of inquiry that seek to clarify the relationship between human behavior and the physical environment
13. Human Diversity Understanding of the diverse needs, values, behavioral norms, physical ability, and social and spatial patterns that characterize different cultures and individuals and the implication of this diversity for the societal roles and responsibilities of architects 15. Sustainable Design Understanding of the principles of sustainability in making architecture and urban designs that conserve natural and built resources, including culturally important buildings and sites, and in the creation of healthful buildings and communities 16. Program Preparation Ability to prepare a comprehensive program for an architectural project, including assessment of client and user needs, a critical review of appropriate precedents, an inventory of space and equipment requirements, an analysis of site conditions, a review of the relevant laws and standards and assessment of their implication for the project, and a definition of site selection and design assessment criteria. 17. Site Conditions Ability to respond to natural and built site characteristics in the development of a program and the design of a project 18. Structural Systems Understanding of the principles of structural behavior in withstanding gravity and lateral forces and the evolution, range, and appropriate application of contemporary structural systems. 21. Building Envelope Systems Understanding of the basic principles and appropriate application and performance of building envelope materials and assemblies 23. Building Systems Integration Ability to assess, select, and conceptually integrate structural systems, building envelope systems, environmental systems, life-safety systems, and building service systems into building design 24. Building Materials and Assemblies Understanding of the basic principles and appropriate application and performance of construction materials, products, components, and assemblies, including their environmental impact and reuse 32. Leadership Understanding of the need for architects to provide leadership in the building design and construction process and on issues of growth, development, and aesthetics in their communities
Studio Culture A successful design project will integrate a diverse number of seemingly conflicting variables, and will not have easy, definitive, or clear-cut solutions. Some solutions, however, are better than others. The better solutions are inevitably the product of many hours of thought, experimentation, trial and error, leveraging of experience, creativity, intuition, and design development. With this in mind, it is expected that the studio meeting times are primarily intended to be a time to present to and discuss with studio faculty work that was already developed outside of meeting hours. It is in the nature of design problems that architectural students (like professional architects) spend days, nights, and weekends—and, for particularly complex projects and ideas, sometimes years—developing design concepts, skills, techniques, and responses. Studio time should therefore only be used for work on, and discussion or presentation of studio projects; it is not a time for purchasing supplies, or unrelated personal or academic work. As a policy, attendance during studio hours is mandatory for the duration; attendance is observed at both the beginning and at the end of the studio period. Unexcused absences are not acceptable; students should therefore inform their studio instructor prior to being temporarily away or absent (and may use Blackboard for logging, but not excusing, absences). Per College policy, two or more unexcused absences will result in a lower final course grade or failure of the course. See Attendance policy below. Architecture students are fortunate among university students to have a personal workspace. Studio faculty recognize that space is limited, but hope that students will make the studio and their desk a useful, comfortable, and productive workplace for themselves. Consider bringing your own chair (a comfortable chair is one of the best investments you can make in your architectural education!) or under-desk storage (lock them to your desk), etc. You “rent” this space with your tuition dollars—use it and get the most out of it. (That being said, in the interest of limited space and due to fire codes, large sofas, beds, and other obstructions are not allowed. Altering or attaching structures to the building is also not permitted.) Other studio space issues naturally involve being respectful of others at all times. To preserve your studio space as a productive work environment for all, keep unnecessary noise to a minimum; do not broadcast music or video—use headphones. Also please keep mobile phone conversations short and quiet, or take them outside. In the interest of cleanliness, clean up scraps and recycle what you can. In the interest of healthy air quality, keep fan coil units free and clear at all times. Also, no spray painting or painting with other substances that produce fumes, burning, blow torching, etc. is permitted in studio. Use designated spray booths or work outside. For your health and the environment’s, use low or no VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints. Studio is an essential and unique part of the history and tradition of architectural education. Indeed, the best professional offices seek to maintain the energy and stimulation of the best academic studios. The best architectural practices recognize that positive studio culture—in university and in practice—fosters superlative project efforts. With this in mind, be professional and efficient in your use of the hours allocated for studio each week, and help to make the studio an energizing workplace outside our contact hours.
Digital Technology and Media You are expected to be familiar with the digital hardware and software (programs, applications) learned and used in previous semesters. The student will also be expected to learn new hardware and software in this and subsequent semesters. Knowledge of and skill with digital technology is highly valued today in academia and professional practice—students will make themselves more valuable to future employees and create additional future opportunities for themselves by becoming skilled in industry-standard and emerging digital tools. Printing, Plotting and Presentations Typically students are required to have prints or plots appropriate in scale and quality for pin-ups, interim reviews, and final reviews. Because this studio is held in a remote location from Clemson University and also due to the compressed timing of studio sessions, work will be reviewed on a daily basis in an ad hoc way, as pertaining to the particular needs of the studio session. Some days may require printed work to be presented, while for others digital presentations will be necessary. It is the responsibility of the student to be prepared on each day to present their work in the most appropriate manner.
Our studio contains the following digital production equipment: • One 8.5”x11”, Letter sized printer, which is to be used for rough work and all documents. Students must budget some funds for printing. • One 11”x17”, Tabloid sized printer, which is to be used for large format and presentation work ONLY. • One 8.5” x 11” color scanner. It is also the student’s responsibility to be aware of possible technical problems, wait or lead times, and alternate printing options. It is not acceptable to be printing work during the time of a review and doing so will result in a reduced participation grade. In the event that a presentation will require printing services not available in our studio, you will be given advance notice and an adequate amount of time to produce your work. Some local options include:
http://www.sohorepro.com/ 381 Broome St, between Mulberry and Mott; (212) – 925 - 7575 http://www.bestypeimaging.com/ 285 W. Broadway, between Lispenard and Canal; (212) – 966 - 6886 Fedex/Kinko’s, 58 Avenue of the Americas, between Walker St + Lispenard St.; (212) 921 -1060
Desk Crits, Pin-Ups, and Reviews Critiques—desk crits, pin ups, and reviews—are the essence of studio education. All students should be prepared for a critique at the start of the studio session, with new work prepared before studio. Desk crits are an especially important time for project development. They are the means by which faculty and student discuss and develop a project together. This is a two-way communication, and is only made possible through the student’s responsibility to be prepared with drawings, models, ideas, and questions for discussion each day of studio. Without this commitment on the part of the student, dialogue with faculty is nearly impossible and will not occur. In return for your preparedness, the faculty will give encouragement and thoughtful criticism, ask questions and attempt to understand and clarify your ideas, and make recommendations as to relevant references for your further exploration. If no effort has been made to produce any work or research any relevant ideas by the student between critiques, project development will not occur, and poor or failure work will likely result. Participation, process, and design development grades will be negatively impacted by lack of development and preparation. We will be travelling extensively in this studio, on many occasions overlapping regularly scheduled studio hours. As a result, some studio sessions will be cut short or take place in unusual circumstances (during a train ride, for example) It is imperative that you be prepared at all times to discuss and/or present your work. Sustainable Design Climate change is perhaps the most serious challenge and situation facing current and upcoming generations. At stake are the continued viability of coastal cities in the U.S. and around the world that are the homes to hundreds of millions of people; the world’s ecosystems; the global food chain; and, in some scenarios, the continued existence of human civilization. For this reason, Clemson University School of Architecture supports Architecture2030’s sustainable design initiatives (see http://architecture2030.org/2010_imperative/index.html). As such, we support the idea that all design projects “engage the environment in a way that dramatically reduces or eliminates the need for fossil fuel,” thereby reducing carbon emissions. In all design projects, in school as well as in practice, we encourage thinking holistically about projects’ carbon footprints, including the choice of materials and resources, energy requirements in operation, urban design and transportation implications, and long-term utility and material re-use (see, for example, architect William McDonough’s Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, 2002). Intellectual Resources Architects need content and purpose for their designs. Like a writer, filmmaker, and artists, they need to purposefully communicate something meaningful. This separates architects from other problem-solvers. With this in mind, architectural students must bring something to the table as designers. To be successful, they must be interested citizens of the world. They must be story-tellers who understand the difference between autobiography and narratives of universal significance. And they must be active participants in their own education.
Sketchbooks, Journals and Metamaps The sketchbook is an excellent way to develop drawing skills, and to develop design ideas. Because they capture the essence of the design idea, sketches are often the most powerful design drawing, and it is often useful to reproduce them for presentations and portfolios. As much as this studio is meant to be an architectural experience, it is also a cultural experience. It is important to take advantage of this by immersing yourself and recording your experiences. Each of you will take part in a series of mapping exercises that are intended to supplement (not replace) your regular sketching and documentation of your experiences. You will be given a pamphlet that contains important information about New York, its architecture, culture, events, and general information. In addition to this, your pamphlet will contain several mapping exercises called ‘meta_maps’. These mapping exercises will explore and record the city as YOU experience it, using both traditional and non-standard mapping techniques. We have a few digital presentation and communication resources that have been setup for use with this studio. A facebook student group has been created for general information and leisure activity sharing. A twitter account has been created to relay quick updates on the go. A course listing has been created on the Clemson University Blackboard system that will contain important information such as studio syllabus, project statements and a gradebook. Finally, and most importantly, a dedicated studio website has been created that is expected to be maintained and updated regularly by YOU as a part of your studio exercises and your meta_mapping exercises. More detailed information will be provided in addition to your project statements at the beginning of the semester. Documentation of Design Work and Portfolios All work produced in this studio will be documented and submitted at the end of the semester. You will be required to submit a CD with all of your work of the semester before you will receive your course grade. This CD archive may be used in evaluating your work for the semester, so you will want to document your work well and organize the digital files clearly (guidelines for organization will be distributed later in the semester). Attendance Policy Students are expected to attend all studio and class sessions. The only definitively excused absences are properly documented medical conditions and other emergencies. Students who miss studio sessions without excused absences should not expect to receive an A grade in this course. Regular and punctual attendance at all class and studio sessions is a student obligation, and each student is responsible for all the work, including tests and written work, in all class and studio sessions. No right or privilege exists that permits a student to be absent from any given number of class or studio sessions except for medical conditions and other emergencies. Always discuss any absences with your studio instructor. As compared to the typical college course, students are expected to work in studio regardless of whether the studio instructor is late or unexpectedly absent. Architectural students have their own workspace; are expected to be working in studio during studio hours; and always have design problems and projects that can continue to be developed and improved without direct supervision.
if your instructor is late for a scheduled class you are to remain in studio, working, for the duration of the class period. If you plan to be away from studio during scheduled studio hours for research purposes, you are asked to notify your instructor beforehand. Two unexcused absences will result in being dropped from the course up until the last day that drops are accepted by the university. After that time, your final semester grade will be reduced by one full letter grade for each additional absence after the initial two absences. An unexcused absence is defined as any time you fail to first notify your instructor regarding the nature of your absence prior to missing the class.
Academic Integrity As members of the Clemson University community, we have inherited Thomas Green Clemson’s vision of this institution as a “high seminary of learning.” Fundamental to this vision is a mutual commitment to truthfulness, honor, and responsibility, without which we cannot earn the trust and respect of others. Furthermore, we recognize that academic dishonesty detracts from the value of a Clemson degree. Therefore, we shall not tolerate lying, cheating, or stealing in any form.
Plagiarism vs. Accepted and Ethical Ways of Citing Sources Although the issue of plagiarism is more commonly associated with written assignments, issues of plagiarism also apply in design work. Plagiarism “includes the intentional or unintentional copying of language, structure, or ideas of another and attributing the work to one’s own efforts.” In written work, plagiarism is considered the failure to acknowledge references and sources. Similarly, in studio work, two examples of plagiarism are the unacknowledged use or abuse of precedents, and the reproduction and use of images without acknowledging their sources. In professional practice, architectural designs and images are protected by copyright laws. In “the real world,” copyright violation is a crime. By the same token, in university plagiarism and may result in a failing grade and possible disciplinary action. For more information about what constitutes plagiarism, see http://www.clemson.edu/ugs/ integrityplagiarism.htm and http://www.grad.clemson.edu/plagiarism.php.
House Work and Assistantships This program is unique in that it includes rented housing and a dedicated studio space. We do not have a cleaning service and must care for this on our own. It is important that everyone contribute equally and regularly to these tasks. Being an off-campus program, we do not have the luxury of a library service, IT-maintenance, or administrative service. Generally, and when reasonable, these tasks will be among the responsibilities of the Graduate Assistant and in some cases the Instructor. Extreme situations, however, may require individuals to be called on to assist. The following tasks will need to be carried out on a regular basis: Graduate Assistant: John Oxenfeld Responsible for general apartment and studio envrions. The GA will serve as an ‘apartment manager’ and has authority to designate tasks to individuals in order to best maintain the facility. See ‘House Rules’ for more information. The GA is also responsible for equipment maintenance, travel accommodations (when necessary), research, and editing the website. Kitchen Maintenance:
_________________ _________________
This is a weekly responsibility and will be reassigned each week. Title includes the daily cleanup of kitchen including all appliances and food. Two people will be assigned this duty per week. Bathroom Maintenance:
_________________
_________________
This is a weekly responsibility and will be reassigned each week. Title includes the cleanup of bathroom twice each week. Two people will be assigned this duty per week. Studio Maintenance:
_________________ _________________
This is a weekly responsibility and will be reassigned each week. Title includes the daily cleanup of studio space. Floors should be swept and clear of any debris. Desks should be clean (responsibility of individual student to maintain their workspace) and equipment (printers, scanner, etc) should be checked. Two people will be assigned this duty per week. Trash Removal:
_________________ _________________
This is a weekly responsibility and will be reassigned each week. Title includes the removal of trash from floors 5+6 and weekly removal of trash from building the evening prior to weekly trash pickup. Two people will be assigned this duty per week.
Course Schedule This course is an intense 6 week program intended to maintain the same contact hours as a typical full-semester design studio. As such, class periods will be more frequent and longer than you are accustomed to. Please bear this in mind as you proceed and plan your ‘out-ofstudio’ activities accordingly. All calendar events, times, locations, and scheduling are subject to change. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of each event, but due to the tight timeframe, public nature of many events, weather, and others’ schedules, some scheduled events may change or need to be cancelled. Availability of Instructor Outside of Course Hours Because of the unique context of this studio, Professor Lee is available outside studio and activity time by appointment only. For questions about grading or assignments, email Prof. Lee at dlee2@clemson.edu For questions about scheduling, contact GA John Oxenfeld at joxenfe@clemson.edu Grading This studio will have the following grading breakdown for projects. Please see project statements for specific project information.
[meta]map daily activities [meta]mapping project Gowanus canal precinct plan Gowanus community center Participation
15% 15% 20% 40%
10% System of Evaluation The previous sections outline many of the expectations of student performance in the course. Overall, the criteria for evaluation will take into account the student’s total efforts and participation in the studio and the student’s presented work. In design work and in studio at large, premise, process, participation, product, presentation, and portfolio (documentation) will be assessed for high quality of work and effort. The insight, originality and innovation of an idea; your diligence in questioning and exploring; your effective communication skills; and the care and craftsmanship of your continual efforts all count in the ultimate evaluation of your work. Pin-ups, interim reviews, and final reviews are comparable to quizzes and exams. Attendance at all reviews is required and students are expected to be pinned up and ready to present their work for evaluation at the appointed review time. Late or incomplete projects are not acceptable.
Missing a review or failure to present will result in a failing grade. If a student’s work is grossly incomplete or of such poor quality the faculty may also deny the student a review, which will likely result in the loss of at least two letter grades. Criteria for the review of design work include: UNDERSTANDING (Premise, Idea). The student understands the issues at hand as described in the project statement and the proposed solution. DEVELOPMENT (Process, Work). The student pursues diligent and continual exploration and refinement of design ideas and concepts evolving from the abstract cognitive phase into a more complex and concrete phase. Precedents in architecture are a critical component of this phase. Responsiveness to criticism and suggestions from faculty and outside reviewers is also essential to progress and project development. CRAFTSMANSHIP (Skill, Product, Result). The student is expected to show care, interest, commitment, and skill in developing and presenting work. Evaluation of design work is subject to qualitative and quantitative standards. The following guidelines will apply in the determination of the success of individual and overall student performance: Excellent (A+99, A95, A-90). This is outstanding work. Innovation and imagination have been demonstrated in the creation of the work and a significant depth of understanding is evident in the student’s interpretation of the project requirements and focus. The full potential of the project has been explored, developed, and communicated with great care and consideration. Above Average (B+89, B85, B-80). This is good work. The student has exceeded all requirements of the project, and has shown more than adequate understanding of its intent and focus. The work demonstrates a thorough-going exploration, development, and execution, including good craftsmanship. Average. (C+79, C75, C-70). This is mediocre work. All of the minimum requirements of the project have been met. The work lacks depth of understanding or development. The overall product exhibits little imagination or innovation, or does not provoke comment. Below Average (D+69, D65, D-60). This is poor work. The work has not even met minimum requirements. It is extremely weak or lacks depth, understanding, or imagination. The care and craftsmanship of the work is inadequate and demonstrates a low level of skill. Failure (59 and below). This is unacceptable work. The work shows no interest or any attempt to confront the issues presented. The work is incomplete, undeveloped, unimaginative, uninspired, poorly crafted, or demonstrates little or no understanding. Incomplete (I). This is incomplete work. An I can only be given to a student for work that is incomplete due to dire and uncontrollable circumstance(s) that have strictly prohibited the work from being completed. Any situation responsible for consideration of granting an I must be fully documented by the student and approved by the instructor. Only then will the grade of I be given. Make up of the incomplete work must be done in accordance with University regulations.
Feedback on Course Assignments and Progress Students will receive feedback on assignments that indicates the general level of their work as compared to their peers. In order to improve their course work, students are encouraged to make an appointment with the instructor to discuss the evaluation of their work in detail (while noting that simply discussing improvement alone will not improve the quality of course work). Students may also request an update on their standing cumulative grade and progress in the course at any time and will receive a timely reply. Students must keep in mind, however, that the sequential, process-oriented nature of developing design solutions make interim grading somewhat more subjective than in test-based courses. Moreover, the quality of work ultimately presented in final reviews is critical and of the essence.
Advancement The following statement regarding advancement to the next level in the studio sequence or for graduation from the University is quoted from the Undergraduate Announcements and will be maintained explicitly: “Students enrolled in second, third, or fourth year design studios must attain at least a 2.0 grade point ratio in each year level (by repeating one or both semesters, if necessary) to qualify for advancement to the next year level, or in the case of fourth year Architecture studios, to qualify for the Bachelor of Arts and [in] Architecture Degree.�
Course Evaluations All students will be requested to complete course evaluations near the end of the semester. Evaluations are an important component in the process of developing new courses, updating course content and delivery, and maintaining courses. Course evaluations are also an important tool for your instructor to help them teach effectively.
Disability Access It is University policy to provide, on a flexible and individualized basis, reasonable accommodations to students who have disabilities. Students are encouraged to contact Student Disability Services to discuss their individual needs for accommodation.
Other University Policies All other University policies apply in this course. Please refer to your student handbook.
Amendments Any necessary amendments to the information provided in this syllabus or in any course documents will be announced, emailed, and/or posted in a timely manner. All amendments will be in force effective the date they are announced in class and/or distributed by email. It is the responsibility of the student to attend class and to read course-related email where important course-related information may be communicated.
Required Texts, Documents, and Video NYC department of planning Gowanus zoning proposal NYC East River Waterfront Park proposals by SHoP Newtown Creek, George Trakas, video Ben Fry lecture, ‘Defining Data Visualization’, 2/2/2010 @ Columbia University other required case study projects will be made available
Recommended Texts Ching, Frank. Building Codes Illustrated: A Guide to Understanding the 2006 International Building Code, 2nd ed. (Wiley, 2007). http://www.amazon.com/Building-Codes-Illustrated-Understanding-International/ dp/0471741892/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224012292&sr=1-1 The Works: Anatomy of a City, Kate Ascher The New York Waterfront, Kevin Bone The Historical Atlas of New York City, Eric Homberger The AIA guide to New York City Delirious New York, Rem Koolhaas Radical Cartography, Lize Mogel and Alexis Bhagat Harmon, Katherine. You Are Here: Personal Geographies and Other Maps of the Imagination (Princeton Architectural Press, 2004). http://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Here-Geographies-Imagination/dp/1568984308/ref=sr_1_1?i e=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224178944&sr=8-1 Ramsey and Sleeper. Architectural Graphic Standards, Student Edition, 11th ed. (Wiley, 2008). http://www.amazon.com/Architectural-Graphic-Standards-Student-Sleeper/dp/0470085460/ ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224013000&sr=8-2
project
intro
Design is not a matter of invention, but an innovative process. Computers allow us to discover previously unimaginable designs with their ability to calculate faster and with finer accuracy than their human counterparts. For many, and for a large portion of the relatively brief history of the modern computer, the innovation that computers brought ended with the power switch. What is done differently with ‘drafting’ programs such as Vectorworks or Autocad? How have they changed the way we see architecture? For the vast majority of architects, the computer has been a crutch more so than it has been an agent of innovation. Designs are produced faster, but with less thought. High quality renderings are easier to produce and more accessible, but remain deceptive representations. Incredible forms are produced, but these are digital versions of sculpture – beautiful, but devoid of any intrinsic or internal intelligence. Sculpture is typically produced through a subtractive process that requires an external agent of change, the sculptor’s tools. There is intelligence in the production, but it lies in the technique of the artist, not the tools he employs. It is how he uses these tools that determines the product. To discover how a sculpture was made is to examine the method of production. For a long time architects have valued product more than process. Computers have been exploited for their ability to produce, but their greatest asset – the act of computing, of computational methods – has been overlooked.
Computation, as an innovative process in architecture, has the potential to fundamentally alter the way we view design. It offers new ways of thinking about production. From computation emerges an architecture of internal constraints, one where part-to-whole relationships and iterative process dramatically influence product. But product is not a ‘one-off’ or mass produced piece, it is an infinitely malleable and complex creature – one of optimization. This studio will examine computation and its potential in an architectural environment. Workshops will explore algorithmic techniques used to engender complex, continuous processes through simple interactions. We will look at data visualization, adaptive systems, generative, emergent, and responsive form. ‘Sketching’, in the context of this studio, is the act of creating a simple machine to carry out a computational process. Through feedback, optimization, and combination of sketches, we will create complex information networks capable of proposing new and innovative architectural possibilities. We will take on an ‘open source’ mentality with both our sketches and project development. Can a site become an open source development? How do we detect and predict patterns and flows? New York is a culturally diverse and global city. Interestingly, while it is thought of as a single cultural entity, its neighborhoods each have a distinct and proud cultural identity of their own. These micro-cultures - sub-cities - tend to have a far more sensitive culture and context. Although every neighborhood has its balance of ‘born and raised’ and ‘transplant’ constituents, they are all equally proud and aware of even the most subtle differences in behavior and lifestyle in their neighborhood. New York neighborhoods, though rarely changing in physical boundary, do experience cultural change over time. The neighborhood you will be living in was once a textile center and many of the buildings that are now occupied by New York’s affluent population were once industrial warehouses. Changes like this don’t happen overnight, but are predictable. One neighborhood currently on the cusp of a major redevelopment – and subsequently cultural reimaging – is the Gowanus area of Brooklyn.
The neighborhood exists around a small and unique canal and has a long history of heavy industrial use. Like many New York neighborhoods that have long seen industry relocate to more affordable tracts outside the city limits (Williamsburg is a recent one, and Bushwick is on track to be the next) artists other urban pioneers have started moving into the area, attracted to the affordable large and open spaces the former industrial buildings have to offer. The neighborhood is about to be impacted dramatically, however, by efforts on the city’s behalf to rezone the area. The result of this rezoning will certainly increase the residential and commercial activity in the area. The challenge will be creating a responsible solution that is sensitive to both the wealthier neighboring communities as well as respectful of the rich history of the Gowanus canal and its current occupants. We will embark on two interrelated projects. The first will look broadly at the rezoning of the Gowanus area toward planning its future. The second project will examine a particular site along the canal and propose a community center and science park.
schedule
June
Monday
time
21
Tuesday Wednesday 22
23
7am 8am 9am 10am 11am
Bill Appel, GCCDC, tour of Gowanus Canal
Studio
Studio
Studio
Studio
12pm 1pm 2pm
Studio
3pm 4pm 5pm gowanus boat tour with david briggs
6pm 7pm
tour: bk bridge + downtown bk
8pm 9pm 10pm notes:
check-in is June 20th. check-in meeting with John Oxenfeld @ 6:30pm. first NYC tour, followed by group dinner starts @ 7pm.
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
24
25
26
27
meta_maps #1 Studio
Studio
Studio
celebrate brooklyn:
celebrate brooklyn:
buena vista social club
kid koala
tour: museum mile
sunday’s best @ brooklyn yard
special guests
optional event
guided tour
work days
student tour
studio days
June
Monday
time
28
Tuesday Wednesday 29
30
7am 8am 9am 10am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm 9pm 10pm notes:
Metro North to Beacon:
tour: midtown Studio
meta_maps #2 Studio
Dia Beacon George Trakas waterfront return Studio to studio
Studio
Studio
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
01
02
03
04
Studio
work day
work day
work day
special guests
optional event
guided tour
work days
student tour
studio days
July
Monday
time
05
Tuesday Wednesday 06
07 tickets for SITP
7am 8am 9am 10am
work day
11am 12pm
midterm review midterm review midterm review midterm review
1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm
Studio
ticket handout work day
midterm review midterm review midterm review midterm review
tour: Upper West Side
5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm 9pm 10pm notes:
Shakespeare in the Park
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
08
09
10
11
meta_maps #3 Studio
Studio
Studio
MOMA
celebrate brooklyn with the roots talib kweli j.period
special guests
optional event
guided tour
work days
student tour
studio days
July
Monday
time
12
Tuesday Wednesday 13
14
7am 8am meta_maps #4
9am 10am
Studio
Studio
Studio
Studio
Studio
Studio
NY philharmonic symphony @ central park
NY philharmonic symphony @ central park
11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm 9pm 10pm notes:
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
15
16
17
18
meta_maps #5 Studio
Studio
Studio
tour: newtown creek + korean presbyterian church MOMA PS1 warm-up
NY philharmonic symphony @ prospect park
special guests
optional event
guided tour
work days
student tour
studio days
July
Monday
time
19
Tuesday Wednesday 20
21
7am 8am meta_maps #6
9am 10am
Studio
Studio
Studio
Studio
Studio
Studio
11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm 9pm 10pm notes:
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
22
23
24
25
Studio
Studio
Studio
Studio
special guests
optional event
guided tour
work days
student tour
studio days
July
Monday
time
26
Tuesday Wednesday 27
28
7am 8am 9am 10am
work day
work day
work day
work day
11am 12pm
final review final review final review final review final review
1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm 9pm 10pm notes:
final review final review final review final review final review
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
29
30
31
01
last day to move out of apartment last day of classes
Mother India (1957 bollywood fiilm) with DJ tigerstyle + Falu special guests
optional event
guided tour
work days
student tour
studio days
your building your neighborhood food laundry supplies the city entertainment
general
info
apartment your apartment
Our building has 24 hour access. There is an elevator that will have keyed access to our floors (5+6). There is also a stair that leads to both floors. Other tenants live in this building, however, including the building owner who lives directly below you on the 4th floor. We have a unique and very fortunate opportunity to be living in such a great neighborhood and luxurious apartment. Please respect this by being quiet while in the apartment, especially during the designated times noted in the ‘house rules’.
borhood your neighborhood
Tribeca, also written as TriBeCa, is an acronym for “TRIangle BElow CAnal Street” and was coined in the 1970s during the community’s zoning efforts. This triangle of land borders SoHo and Lower Manhattan extending from Broadway to West Street and from Canal Street to Chambers Street. In the 1800s, Tribeca became the center of the textile and cotton trade with a neighborhood comprised of mainly large industrial warehouses and stores. But by the 1960s this industrial center was coming to an end leaving many vacant warehouses and abandoned buildings. Over the next ten years, many artists and their families moved to the area for the large amount of empty and inexpensive commercial space. This gave artists much desired space to paint, sculpt, dance and display or demonstrate their artwork. Since the 1980s most of these warehouses have been converted into apartments and lofts which are now home to various prosperous and upscale residents. The zip code 10013 is now ranked as one of New York City’s most expensive residential neighborhoods.
Tribeca is famous for many things such as its bountiful restaurants, boutique shops, chic fabric stores, and art showcases such as the Tribeca Film Festival. The Tribeca Film Festival was created by Robert DeNiro and Jane Rosenthal after 9/11 in a long-term effort to help rejuvenate the economy and culture of this Lower Manhattan community. Tribeca has been a very popular filming spot for movies and television shows such as the Saturday Night Live opening credits, Bar Artisanal in an episode of The Hills, Ladder Company 8 from Ghostbusters and Hitch, Tribeca Grand Hotel seen in Two Weeks Notice, Duane Reade store in Sex in the City: The Movie, Felix Restaurant in Big Daddy, Café Noir in Unfaithful, The Puck Building from Will & Grace and When Harry Met Sally, and the list goes on. From time to time, you will see pink paper signs posted by the mayor’s office announcing future film projects coming to Tribeca. And if you’re lucky, you might even get a glimpse of some celebrity locals like Gwyneth Paltrow, Jay-Z, Beyonce Knowles, Robert DeNiro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Derek Jeter, Kate Winslet, Jon Stewart, Kelly Ripa, Justin Timberlake, Harvey Keitel, Meryl Streep, David Letterman, Uma Thurman, Chris Martin, James Gandolfini and Amy Poehler.
d food food food food food
Finding a place to eat in New York is never a problem. It’s more a matter of what you want to eat and how much you are willing to pay. Below are some more convenient places for daily food, coffee and takeout in your area:
Grocery.basic Broadway Mini Market, 403 Broadway at Walker St. Fresh Food Market, 386 Canal at W.Broadway
Grocery Maxdelivery.com (order online and delivered to you) Freshdirect.com (order online and delivered to you) Whole Foods, 270 Greenwich at Warren St.
There are also hundereds of other options and you are encouraged to explore them. Every MWF and Saturday, for example, is an open-air farmer’s market in Unioin Square. Also, the Tribeca greemarket is on Greenwich between Chambers and Duane that is open on Saturday’s and Wednesday’s. There are plenty of specially meat, cheese, and gourmet shops around. Piizza Michelangelo’s, 318 Church St (212).274.1410 Joseph Oliveri, 253 Canal St (212).226.9817
Deli Columbine, 229 W.Broadway at White Tribeca Park Deli, 1 Walker St at Church Bread Tribeca, 301 Church at Walker Subway, 297 Church St. at Walker
Quizno’s. 362 Broadway and Franklin
Coffee La Colombe, 319 Church St at Lispenard Westside Coffee Shop II, 323 Church St. Starbucks, 405 Broadway RBC NYC, 71 Worth St at Church St.
Bakery Billy’s Bakery, 75 Franlkin bet Broadway and Church
laundry laundry laundry lau
There are two types of laundry services in New York: 1: Wash + Fold, you drop it off and they take care of the rest. These charge by the pound. I’d advise not leaving delicates with them though. These can be drop-off/pick-up or some will deliver to your apartment. 2: self-service, coin operated machines.
American Thread Cleaners, 260 W. Broadway at Lispenard, (212).431.8760 Franklin Cleaners, 6 Varick St, (212).431.9775 White on White Cleaners, 68 White St., (212).219.8889
s supplies supplies supplies hardware Walker Supply, 61 Walker St Chinatown Building Supply, 72 Walker
art Pearl Paint, 308 Canal at Mercer Utrecht art supply, West 23rd st bet 7+8th ave Dick Blick, 1 Bond St
*also plenty of fun places to find materials on Canal st. such as Canal Plastics home Duane Reade, 459 Broadway Rite Aid, 495 Broadway at Broome K-Mart, 770 Broadway at 9th St.
the city the city the city the
Despite having a population of more than 8 million people, New York City consistantly ranks in the top ten safest large cities(cities with more than 500,000 people) in the United States. Violent crimes in New York City have dropped by over two thirds in the last decade and the FBI reports that murder rates in 2000 were the lowest since 1967. However, visitors should be aware that many swindlers and thiefs are skilled at identifying “out of towners” or folks that may seem disoriented or confused to prey upon. While this shouldn’t scare you away from New York City, using common sense should keep you fairly safe.
Panhandlers are best ignored, and the easiest way to divert persistant panhandlers is to avoid eye contact. Generally, even the most persistant request can be deterred with a firm “No”. One common scam is strangers approaching you with a sob story about living outside the city and having difficulty getting home because they left their wallet locked in their office or claiming to have just been attacked and needing money for train or bus fare. If these folks had a legitimate problem, the police could assist them, so don’t fall prey to their tactics. Pickpockets and swindlers often work in teams, where one person will cause a commotion, either by falling or dropping something, while the other person pickpockets unsuspecting folks who try to help or stop to look. Crowded street performances can provide pickpockets a similar opportunity -- so while it is fine to watch the musicians or artists, be aware of your surroundings and where your wallet and valuables are. Sidewalk card and shell games are most
city the city the city the city
often scams as well -- participation almost guarantees you’ll be giving your money away. Most of the popular tourist destinations are well populated and safe. During the daytime, almost all areas of Manhattan are safe for walking -- even Harlem and Alphabet City, though the uninitiated may prefer to avoid these neighborhoods after dark. Times Square is a great place to visit at night and it stays populated until after midnight, when theater-goers head home. Safety Tips • Avoid drawing attention to yourself as a tourist: don’t stand on street corners looking at maps and do your best to walk confidently, as this will deter many criminals. • Be aware of your surroundings. • In crowded subways, keep your wallet in your front pocket, rather than the rear, and keep your purse closed and held in front of you or on the side. • Don’t flaunt jewelery, cameras or cash in public. If you need to organize your wallet, duck into a store. • Use caution when using ATMs and don’t carry too much cash around with you -- most places accept credit cards and there are ATMs everywhere. • After dark, stick to main streets if you don’t know where you are going.
the city the city the city the
• If you feel uncomfortable or lost, approach a police officer or a friendly store owner to get your bearings or directions.
• When in doubt of your destination or the safety of a neighborhood, take a cab, especially late at night. Many business districts are desolate at night -- keep this in mind when deciding whether to walk or take a cab. • If taking the subway late at night, stand near the “During off hours trains stop here” sign or in view of the Metro-Card booth. Ride in cars with more people and preferably in the conductor’s car (you will see him look out the window of the train when it stops).
entertainment entertainmen
I have hard time believing you’ll be starved for things to do at night. There are plenty of theatres, bars and clubs in the area. For local events check:
Time Out New York is a great resource for weekly events. You can pick one up at any newsstand. They publish every tuesday. The Village Voice is another good weekly resource for events. Both of these are also published online, but sometimes it’s useful to have a hard copy.
subway
In their introduction to the 2006 book, An atlas of Radical Cartography, Alexis Bhagat and Lize Mogel observe: “This Atlas is an atlas and not the atlas. Rather, it is one of many possible atlases, given the abundance of artists, architects and others using maps and mapping in their work. While all maps have an inherent politics that lies hidden beneath an ‘objective’ surface, the contributions to An Atlas of Radical Cartography wear their politics on their sleeve…Radical Cartographies are, as Trevor Paglen writes, ‘a departure point or tool that can aid in analysis but do not speak for themselves.’…This slow, cumulative, and constant work across many scales of action is what creates social change.”
Radical Cartography is an appropriate phrase for describing how one might map their experiences in space and time. A map offers us a simple diagram of place, primarily though metric values. It can offer possible solutions for moving from one place to another and highlight certain geographical features, buildings, landmarks and other inanimate things. But what does a map tell us about experience? How might a map tell a story about place that doesn’t exist in physically measured features?
checklist
Metamaps, as the name implies, involve a higher order of representation than a cartographic exercise. Metamaps are self-referential and dynamic visualizations involving complex sets of information. A metamap is a living organism that can grow and change in time and refresh itself as its referenced information migrates, mutates or simply becomes defunct. As each of you experience New York, possibly for the first time, you will encounter new places and a different culture. Your experiences will be documented, in part, through the creation of a series of metamaps. These maps will contain geographical information, but only as a reference. Their real content will be in the experiences you add in the form of imagery, video, references and other information. Our metamaps will be assembled using GoogleMaps and will be published in the public domain for anyone to explore. Your maps will certainly tell stories, but they also have the potential to harvest critical information. As a simple example, by publishing the GPS coordinates of a location you plan to visit in the future you will be able to navigate to that location using a GPS device (your iphone, for example). Each metamap in this book contains a brief description of a neighborhood and a guided tour. This will be your starting point for exploration. Your metamap will be your unique perspective through your experiences.
your guide to the
city
this is an all day trip. plan to leave early, say 8am, to make the first ferry ride and you can enjoy lunch on Governor’s Island.
checklist
WTC/PATH equitable building federal reserve NYSE federal hall national memorial trinity church + bridge 100 trinity place
financial district + tribeca bull battery park Vietnam veteran’s war memorial governor’s island ferry lot-ek urban gazebos waterfront park pavilion Irish hunger memorial garden
The Financial District’s twisted streets, varying both in direction and width, occupy that part of Manhattan’s tip originally laid out by early colonists, vividly recalling the irregular medieval street patterns of northern European settlements. It is this part of the toe, the original part, that became the foundation for the slender skyscrapers built between the turn of the century and the Great Depression of the 1930s. It is also the part abundantly served by the three subway systems whose stations dot the area. Surrounding the district’s early core on the waterside are a later series of concentric landfills,. They support the successive waves of warehouses, countinghouses, and wharves that would serve the water-oriented enterprises that gave New York its early profits, power, and fame. In time these activities faded even as the core prospered, giving birth to the Financial District’s canyons. Yet the twentieth century did not saturate the perimeter of the toe until after World War II, when large-scale skyscraper development bulldozed what had become outlying, seedy, low-scale areas, still abundant with architectural significance but marginal economically. The special visual character of these late 18th and 19th century commercial precincts is evident today only in the South Street Seaport Historic District. AIA Guide to New York City, 2000.
Take the E train to the World Trade Center. Go see the PATH station designed by Santiago Calatrava (in progress). Exit on Church Street and walk south to Liberty Street. At Liberty Street on your right will be the Equitable Building. Turn left on Liberty Street-notice that you are in the shade. Many of the buildings in the Financial District were designed during a period when technology first made it possible for very tall buildings to be constructed efficiently. At the same time, however, little was done to respect the right to natural daylighting at street level. Modern set-back zoning regulations for tall buildings were created here as a direct consequence of this development. Continue along Liberty Street to Nassau Street. Here you’ll see the Federal Reserve Bank. Make a right on Nassau Street and continue to Wall Street. Here you’ll find the New York Stock Exchange and Federal Hall National Memorial. Turn right on Wall Street and walk back to Broadway. Across the street you’ll find Trinity Church. Walk through the courtyard to Trinity Place. Down the block on your right will be SOM’s 100 Trinity Place building. Walk back to your left (or downtown) you’ll see the Trinity Place Bridge, linking Trinity Churchyard and 74 Trinity Place. This 80 foot long bridge is one of the oldest urban pedestrian overpasses. Back on Broadway walk downtown a few blocks and you’ll find the famous bronze sculpture of the
equitable building
trinity church
Bowling Green
charging bull at the entrance of Bowling Green Park. At the other end of the park you’ll see the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel Ventilation Building. Make your way across Battery Place and into Battery Park. Take a stroll through the park and find your way to the Staten Island Ferry on the southeastern most side of the park. Exit the park on State Street and continue as close as you can along the water to the east until you reach the Governor’s Island ferry building, an ornate iron structure painted shades of green and yellow. Take the ferry to Governor’s Island (they run every hour on the hour from 10am to 3pm). Ferries return from Governor’s Island from 10:30am to 4:30pm every 60 minutes. If you have a long wait for the ferry, walk a couple blocks east and you’ll find the Vietnam Veteran’s War Memorial. On the ferry ride, you can get a great view of Manhattan harbor and Jersey City. Most come to Governor’s Island to see the National Monument, which is only a few steps away from the ferry station. But if you make the walk (or rent a bike) to the other end of the island, you’ll find a park where you can get a great view of the Statue of Liberty. Also in the park you’ll see some bright red shipping containers designed by Lo-tek. Originally designed as flexible office space, these are now repurposed as “urban gazebos”. This is a great place to find lunch. There are usually vendors along the perimeter road and there are also a few cafes on the island.
Take the ferry back to Manhattan. Once you’re back in Manhattan take the 1 train at South Ferry to Chambers Street. Walk west along Chambers Street. You’ll pass Washington Market Park and cross over the Westside Highway. Continue to the end of Chambers Street until you reach a waterfront park. As you reach the park turn left and walk to Warren Street. At the intersection you’ll find the kiosk, a pavilion designed by Demetri Porphyrios. Continue walking south through the park until you reach its end at Vesey Street. This is where many of the PATH trains leave the city toward New Jersey. Make a left to reach your final destination at 290 Vesey Street; The Irish Hunger Memorial Garden. To return home, continue along Vesey until you get to Church Street; make a left and the E train (your ticket back to the apartment) will be one block away.
LOTEK
Demetri Porphyrios
this is an early afternoon trip. have a light lunch before you leave (or eat at Teany?).
checklist
Sarah Roosevelt Park trackstar teany
lower east side THOR sugar sweet sunshine Tschumi Williamsburg Bridge Essex Market Tenement Museum East River Park
Far more significant historically than architecturally, this area harbors the legions of tenement buildings that warehoused the wave of homeless, tempest-tost immigrants who arrived from the 1880s to World War I. Six-story masonry blocks covered 90 percent of the lots in question, offering no light and air except at the 90-foot-sitant ends of these railroad flats and through minuscule sidewall air shafts. Rooms strung end to end like railroad cars gave rise to the term “railroad flats”. If there is a significant building type in this precint it is the synagogue. In the years before World War I, some 500 Jewish houses of worship and talmud torahs (religious schools) were built here. Generally, the Lower East Side lies east of the Bowery and northeast of the Manhattan Bridge. The Lower East Side is Manhattanís most eclectic gritmeets-glam neighborhood. Probably best known for the slew of trendy bars and lounges that sprung up in the early 2000ís (most of which remain alive and well), the Lower East Side also has a funky mix of trendy boutiques, mom-and-pop shops, cozy cafes, and chic restaurants. With longtime residents and first-generation hipsters welcoming a new wave of students and young professionals to the area, the diverse population continues to grow. AIA Guide to New York City, 2000.
Take the F,V train to the 2nd avenue, lower east side stop. Follow the park down Chrystie to Rivington Street. Cross the Sarah Roosevelt Park (stop and watch a soccer game if anyone’s playing). Continue on Rivington. If you’re into track bikes, make a detour to 231 Eldridge Street where you’ll find Trackstar courier, home to a cult following of local fixies. Otherwise, continue onto Rivington...
teany
Between Orchard and Ludlow you’ll see a restaurant called Teany (owned by Moby who was one of the early pioneers in revitalizing the neighborhood. As recently as five years ago, the fresh and trendy look of the neighborhood was not nearly as apparent. Continuing along Rivington, you’ll quickly notice some of the more recent additions, such as The Hotel on Rivington (THOR 106 Rivington). Stay on Rivington to Essex Street and at Essex either stop for some candy at the Economy Candy Store or go another block and get a cupcake (the best in NYC) at Sugar Sweet Sunshine.
Tschumi’s BLUE
Go South on Norfolk Street and stop to see Bernard Tschumi’s Blue Condominium Tower (105 Norfolk Street). Continue down Norfolk to Delancey and stop at the Williamsburg Bridge. The unusual (straight) cables on the land side of the towers result from the fact that support is by truss and pier, rather than pendant cable as in the Brooklyn Bridge. The Brooklyn Bridge’s cables hang in a catenary curve, in contrast. (If you have time you can walk the bridge and go explore Williamsburg).
sugar sweet sunshine
nightlife. cakeshop and piano’s are two of many bar/clubs that host live music most nights.
From the bridge, walk along the south side of Delancey back to Essex Street. Check out the Essex Street market as you pass. Make a right on Broome and stop on Orchard Street at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. Go in the museum. Then walk one block south down to Grand Street and walk east until you get back to Essex Street. Take Essex Street south (it will turn into Rutgers Street) until you get to the East River Park. Spend some time at the East River Park looking at the treatment along the waterfront (you can get a good view of the Manhattan Bridge from the park).
Williamsburg bridge
If you want to return to the les at night, there are tons of good music venues, Bowery Ballroom, Mercury Lounge, Cakeshop, Pianos to name a few. When you’ve completed your tour of the lower east side, walk back up Rutgers Street to East Broadway and take the F train.
LES tenement museum
this is a late morning - early afternoon trip.
checklist
i.m. pei center for architecture philip johnson nyc catholic center washington square park mews w4th courts
greenwich + west village murray’s cheese narrowest house perry street magnolia bakery spotted pig richard meier winka dubbeldam
Always a village, the first one was an Algonquin community, Sapokanikan. The Dutch, upon their arrival in 1626, quickly kicked out the natives, taking over the fertile rolling farmland for their own profit and pleasure. Growth was leisurely since the village was completely separated from the bustling community concentrating the lower tip of the island; but its stature rose suddenly in the 1730s with the land purchases of socially prominent naval Captain Peter Warren. When Captain Warren bought a large parcel in 1731, he was the first of a long line of affluent individuals to settle in the Village. His mansion was soon followed by Richmond Hill (owned by Aaron Burr among others) and the Brevoort homestead. Richmond Hill was the best know of these homes, which for nearly 100 years gave the Village an unsurpassed social status. The city commissioners, having already contemplated the future growth of Manhattan, appointed John Randel, Jr., who from 1808 to 1811 prepared maps and plans for the present grid-iron of Manhattan’s streets. The village escaped most of this layout, however, since it was simply too difficult to impose it over the well-established pattern. The commissioners, though, had their way with the hills, leveling them all by 1811 and taking with them the grandeur of the old estates. These properties were then easily divisible into small city lots, and by 1822 the community was densely settled, many of the settlers “refugees” from a series of “downtown” epidemics. Sailors’ Snug Harbor and Trinity Parish have both had leading roles in the Village’s growth. The Harbor was founded in 1801, when Captain Robert Richard Randall deeded in perpetual lease 21 acres of land (around and north of Washington Square), together with a modest cash grant, for the support of a home for aged seamen. It was moved to Staten Island in 1833, and since then has received its income from its leased Village land. Prior to the 1920s, its property had been divided into small lots, rented mainly
Take the 6 train to Bleecker Street. Walk west on Bleecker to Mercer Street. At Mercer Street between Bleecker and Houston, you’ll see I.M. Pei’s Silver Towers. Continue west on Bleecker and turn right at LaGuardia Place. Between Bleecker and w.3rd Street you’ll find the Center for Architecture on the west side of the street. Check out any current exhibits. Keep walking up LaGuardia Place until you get to Washington Square Park. At 70 Washington Square South you’ll find the Bobst library, designed by Philip Johnson and Richard Foster. Continue on Washington Square South to the NYU Catholic Center (58 Washington Square South).
I.M. Pei
Walk into Washington Square Park to the famous arch. Then walk out of the park to Washington Square North. Between Washington Square North and University Place you’ll find the Washington Mews. Continue along Washington Square North/Waverly Place to 6th Avenue. Turn left on 6th Avenue and walk down to the w.4th basketball courts and stop a few minutes to watch a game if anyone’s playing. From w.4th walk down Cornelia Street to Bleecker. On Bleecker you can stop in for cheese at Murray’s and/or gelato at Cones. From Bleecker turn left on Barrow Street and then left again on Bedford. At 75 Bedford Street you’ll find the narrowest house in New York City. Then go back to Bleecker. Continue on Bleecker to w.11th and you’ll come to Magnolia Bakery. This is the bakery made famous by Sex and the City. Perry Street is where Carrie’s apartment was.
bobst library
for individual residences. Since then, land values have skyrocketed, and the Harbor understandably sought to increase its income from its holdings. In doing so, however, it leased rather indiscriminately, permitting the demolition of many historic and architectural treasures and their replacement by mediocre works, to the detriment of the area. Trinity Parish made great contributions to the development of the West Village in the 19th century, encouraging respectful care and beautification of its leased land. In 1822 it developed a residential settlement around St. Luke’s Church, which to this day is a positive influence upon the neighborhood. In its street grids (they differ from each other as well as from those of the rest of Manhattan), in the life-styles it tolerates (or is it nurtures?), and in its remarkable variety of architecture, Greenwich Village is a concentration of contrasts in a city of contrasts. But in the Village’s case, these contrasts have long been synonymous with its identity: bohemia. This is less apparent today than when both aspiring and successful artists and writers gravitated to this crooked-streeted, humanely scaled, out-of-theway, low-rent enclave passed over by the city’s growth northward. Actually, today’s Village encompasses the long-fashionable side-streets along lower Fifth Avenue as well as those irregular byways to the south and west that are featured in picture postcard views. Since around 1900 the Village has been not only a proving ground for new ideas among its creative residents but also a symbol of the forbidden, the free life - the closest thing to Paris that we had in this country. With the opening up of Sixth and Seventh Avenue subways beneath them, the area became even more accessible. After the hiatus caused by the Depression and World War II, the Village once again attracted interest, this time from high-rise housing developers, from
Walk west on w.11th Street. (If you are hungry stop at the Spotted Pig and if there’s time, watch a World Cup game.) When you get to West Street turn left and at the corner of West and Perry (173 Perry) you’ll see Perry West, designed by Richard Meier. Then walk east on Perry Street to Greenwich Street and walk south on Greenwich. Continue down to 497 Greenwich where you’ll see the condos designed by Winka Dubbeldam (architectonics). narrowest house
When you are ready to leave the Village, walk east on Canal Street to the 1 station (or just walk back to your apt.).
winka dubbeldam
smaller entrepreneurs who created little studio apartments with mini spaces inversely proportional to their high rents , and from tenants who left the “duller� (meaning the outer) parts of the city to taste forbidden fruit. Creators were swept out by observers (middle-class doctors, dentists, cloak and suiters, and other vicarious residents). The people of the visible Village changed - leaving West Village families, such as those written about by urbanist Jane Jacobs, to go about their own business, largely unnoticed. In the 1950s it was the beat generation; since then, after a bout with the drug culture (which has moved easterly) it has returned to beckon yet another younger generation with its special raffishness. As its nostalgic glamour fades, however, it continues to fulfill a variety of seemingly conflicting roles: a genteel place to live, a fashionable step up the professional ladder, a spawning ground for movements such as feminism and gay liberation, a singles’ haven, a place to raise a family - in short, a perplexing but certainly not colorless community. The Village, though no longer bohemian, still represents the unconventional, a reputation supported by its winding streets, its tiny houses sandwiched between impersonal behemoths, and its charming shops and eateries. AIA Guide to New York City, 2000.
this is a late morning - early afternoon trip.
checklist
louis sullivan 1 bond st herzog + de meuron bouerie lane theatre think coffee morphosis astor place
east village colonnade row new school webster hall st. george’s st. mark’s tompkins square park stalin
The East Village is an area of vivid contrasts.
Around St. Mark’s-in-the-Bowery there are traces of an 18th and 19th century aristocracy. But elsewhere the area reveals quite a different social history. Along St. Mark’s Place, 7th, and 6th Streets is evidence of a 19th-century German community. Late in that century, population from the crowded Lower East Side was squeezed northward into the precinct generally lying between East Houston and East 14th Streets, assuming the name Lower East Side (as an extension of the already established neighborhood to the south). The area blossomed with eastern European populations, both Jewish and Gentile. To this day, favored Ukrainian and Polish dishes are still to be found in local restaurants. (On the other hand, most of the kosher delicatessens are gone.) Around First Avenue and East 11th Street the gustatorial remnants of an Italian community are evident and are being rediscovered. And McSorley’s recalls the day of many other Irish saloons. In the 1960s the area assumed the name of East Village as a result of the incursion of hippies and flower children from the relatively expensive (and Establishment bohemian) Greenwich Village. The major point of entry was through the St. Mark’s Place corridor, which led to Tompkins Square Park, to cheap tenement apartments and to crash pads as far east as Alphabet City, where Manhattan’s north-south avenues assume letters rather than numbers. This area today, between Avenues A and D is heavily Hispanic in population and has been dubbed Loisaida, the Puerto Rican pronunciation of Lower East Side. While heavy with poverty, there is nevertheless evidence that rubble-strewn lots, once packed with tenements, are being eyed, and even built upon, by speculators, as housing in Manhattan becomes ever more scarce. The East Village has been the site of counterculture, protests, and riots. The neighborhood is known as the birthplace and historical home of many artistic movements, including
Take the 6 train to Bleecker Street. Just west of the subway station at 65 Bleecker is the Bayard-Condict building, a beautiful and ornate building designed by Loius Sullivan. From Bleecker walk west to Broadway and then walk up Broadway. Turn right when you get to Bond Street. At 1 Bond Street, you’ll see 1 Bond Street, aother beautiful cast-iron building facade. Just past the apartments is Dick Blick art store. Stop in if you need any supplies. Continue on Bond Street to the Herzog + De Meuron apartment building at 40 Bond. You can’t miss its striking facade with ornate gates and contrasting oversized, minimal upper form.
sullivan
When you get to the Bowery, you’ll see the Bowerie Lane Theatre at 330 Bowery. Just south of this is Think Coffee. Stop in for a coffee (one of the better lattes in Manhattan, order it ‘to stay’ - with some grilled cheese if you’re hungry.) There’s also a thrift store around the corner on Bleecker specializing in couture apparel. Then continue up the Bowery to the Cooper Union. Here you’ll see the new Morphosis building which you definitely need to see from the inside. It’s just as spectacular as the exterior. Also, be sure you check out the Astor Place subway station here.
herzog + de meuron
Continue up the Bowery to Colonnade Row. Then walk up to e.12th Street and turn left. Here you’ll find The New School and also Strand Bookstore. Walk east on e.12th to 3rd Avenue and turn right at 3rd. Once you’re at e.11th Street you’ll see Webster Hall to the west.
morphosis
punk rock and the Nuyorican literary movement. In 1966 Andy Warhol promoted a series of shows, entitled The Exploding Plastic Inevitable, and featuring the music of the Velvet Underground in a Polish ballroom on St Marks Place. In 1968 Bill Graham opened the Fillmore East in a Yiddish theater on 2nd Avenue, used to establish new bands like The Who, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin. CBGB, the nightclub considered by some to be the birthplace of punk music, was located in the neighborhood, as were many other early punk clubs. Among the many important bands and singers who got their start at these clubs and other venues in downtown Manhattan were: the Ramones, Talking Heads, Patti Smith, Madonna, Sonic Youth, the Beastie Boys, and The Strokes. AIA Guide to New York City, 2000.
Continue down 3rd Avenue to e.7th. Turn left on e.7th and at 16 e.7th you’ll see St. George’s Ukrainian Catholic Church. Walk over to 2nd avenue. At the corner of 2nd and 7th there is a cool pomme frites stand. Make a right to check out St. Mark’s place. Continue down St. Mark’s all the way to Tompkins Square Park. Spend some time in the park. Then walk down Avenue B. There’s a big bar/club scene along Avenue B in the East Village. At Houston Street turn right. When you get to 250 Houston, look at the Red Square building and the Stalin statue on top. Continue down Houston to 1st Street. You are now at the corner of 1st and 1st...this might be an old reference by now, but as Kramer put it, this is “the nexus of the universe”. When you are ready to leave the east village, walk a little further west on Houston to the FV subway station at Chrystie Street.
astor place subway
this is a late morning - early afternoon trip.
checklist
Salvation Army Fashion Insitute of Technology Chelsea hotel Church of the Guardian Angel theological seminary cushman row art galleries
chelsea comme de garcons chelsea piers Gehry Chelsea Market Porter house hotel Gansevoort New York Savings Bank
Nearly two centuries of ups and downs have left Chelsea a patchwork of town houses, tenements, factories, and housing projects. The name was originally given by Captain Thomas Clarke to his estate, staked out in 1750, which extended roughly from the present 19th to 28th streets, from Eighth Avenue west to the Hudson. The modern place-name covers approximately the same area, with its eastern boundary at Seventh Avenue and its southern one at 14th Street. Captain Clarke’s grandson, Clement Clarke Moore grew up in the family mansion near the present 23rd Street west of Ninth Avenue, dividing the estate into lots around 1830. Moore, noted in his time as a scholar of languages, is remembered now mainly for his poem “A Visit from Saint Nicholas.” Moore donated one choice block for the General Theological Seminary, which is still there, and the surrounding blocks prospered as a desirable suburb. The the Hudson River Railroad opened along Eleventh Avenue in 1851, attracting slaughterhouses, breweries, and so on, followed quickly by the shanties and tenements of workers. In 1871 the dignity of town house blocks still unaffected by the railroad was shattered by the steam locomotives of New York’s first elevated railroad, which ran up Ninth Avenue. In the 1870s a declining Chelsea was brightened by the blossoming of the city’s theater district along West 23rd Street. For a decade or so, these blocks were ideally convenient to both the high society of Madison Square and the flourishing vice district along Sixth Avenue in the upper 20s and 30s. When the theater world moved uptown, artists and literati stayed on to make Chelsea New York’s bohemia; early in the 20th century bohemia moved south to Greenwich Village, but the writers never quite deserted 23rd Street. Around 1905-1915 a new art form, the motion picture, was sheltered in Chelsea, whose old lofts and theaters made economical studios until the sunshine of Hollywood lured the industry away.
Take the 1 train to 14th Street. Exit to the east and find the Salvation Army Centennial Memorial Temple at 120 w.14th Street. You can’t miss the enormous cast-in-place concrete building. Hop back on the subway and take it to 28th Street, where you’ll find the Fashion Institute of Technology, an enormous brutalist building spanning from 26th to 28th Street. Continue south on 7th Avenue and make a right on 23rd, where you’ll find the Chelsea Hotel at 222 w.23rd, New York’s first co-op that was a former home to such artists as Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Leonard Cohen, Andy Warhol, and Jackson Pollock.
salvation army temple
Get back to 7th Avenue and walk down to 21st Street. Turn left at 21st and you will see the Church of the Guardian Angel at 193 w.21st. Head west on 21st Street. Cross over 9th Avenue and you’ll pass by the General Theological Seminary, a gothic revival building between 20th and 21st. Continue down to 20th Street. Between 406 and 418 w.20th is Cushman Row, a bunch of Greek revival houses that date back to 1840. Continue west on 21st Street and spend some time between 10th and 11th Avenues from 20th to 24th Streets in the Chelsea galleries. If you’re hungry try the Half King on 23rd at 10th Avenue or one of the other many restaurants nearby. Also, while you’re on 22nd Street, stop in the Comme de Garçons clothing store at 520 w.22nd. Once you’ve exhausted the galleries head west to Chelsea Piers. This is a big sports and recreation complex, but directly in front of it is the Hudson River greenway which spans Manhattan north to south along the Hudson River.
chelsea hotel
In the 1920s and 1930s Chelsea got a lift from some impressive new industrial buildings near the piers and some luxury apartments inland. But the greatest improvements were on the grade-level freight line, long since part of the New York Central, which ran along Eleventh Avenue (there was a Death Avenue Cowboy on horseback, carrying a red flag of warning ahead of each train); it was replaced in 1934 by an inconspicuous through-the-block elevated line just west of Tenth Avenue. Just prior to World War II the rattling Ninth Avenue el, the city’s first above-the-streets rapid transit line, was torn down. In the 1950s and 1960s public housing and urban renewal approved large chunks of slum housing, and rehabilitation of Chelsea’s many fine town houses followed a slow upward trend. By the 1980s gentrification had reclaimed almost all the brick and brownstone town houses. Since the mid-1990s, Chelsea has become a center of the New York art world, as art galleries moved there from SoHo. From 16th Street to 27th Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues, there are more than 350 art galleries that are home to modern art from upcoming artists and respected artists as well. With a change in zoning resolution in conjunction with the development of the High Line, Chelsea has experienced a new construction boom, with projects by architects such as Shigeru Ban, Neil Denari, Jean Nouvel, and Frank Gehry. In the Meatpacking District, the area directly south of Chelsea, alongside the meatpacking plants - fashion designers, graphic designers, writers, architects, artists and photographers have created a destination for design, architecture, fashion, salons, beauty and luxury boutiques. Restaurants and nightlife venues create an up-all-night vibe about the neighborhood. AIA Guide to New York City, 2000.
Walk south along the greenway (watch out for bikes and rollerbladers) to the IAC/Interactive Corp. Building on w.18th, designed by Frank Gehry. Then walk east on 18th Street to 9th Avenue. Walk down 9th Avenue to the National Maritime Union and then keep going down 9th Avenue.
comme de garcons
Stop in the Chelsea market, the old National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) factory, on 9th Avenue between 15th and 16th Streets. If you’re still hungry they usually give out samples, especially in the brownie store. Also, if you like cheese there is an Italian specialty shop with a great selection of Italian cheeses. Continue down 9th Avenue. At the corner of 15th, you’ll see the Porterhouse, designed by SHoP architects. All of those vertical white stripes you see light up at night (it’s really worth the visit back). Continue a little further down 9th Avenue to w.13th Street and see the Gansevoort Hotel, and then at 29 9th Avenue, check out the Vitra showroom. Walk back up to 14th Street and continue east on 14th. Right before you get to the subway stop, you’ll see the New York Savings Bank, now Balducci’s. You can get on the ACE or L train at this station.
porter house
this is a late morning - early afternoon trip.
checklist
new museum kitchen supplies snacks
nolita, little italy, chinatown steven holl la esquina mulberry st mott st manhattan bridge ps 126 chatham towers
In most large American cities Chinese have formed enclaves that are sought by tourists and relished by city dwellers with an appetite for China’s diverse cuisines. Since the 1840s New York’s Chinatown has traditionally been centered in the eight blocks encircled by Canal, Worth, and Mulberry Streets and the Bowery/Chatham Square. In the early 1970s Chinese began to push out the enclave’s historic boundaries, although Mott Street below Canal remains Main Street, along whose flanks and side streets are located the most popular places to dine and shop. Chinese expansion is evident in every direction, dissipating the Italianness of Little Italy and replacing it with Chinese ideographs and Yiddish signs that were once ubiquitous along East Broadway to the Forward Building and beyond. Nolita, the area north of Little Italy was long regarded as part of Little Italy. The area, however, lost much of its recognizable Italian character in recent decades because of the migration of Italian-Americans out of Manhattan. In the second half of the 1990s, the neighborhood saw an influx of yuppies and an explosion of expensive retail boutiques and trendy restaurants and bars. After previous unsuccessful tries to pitch the neighborhood as part of SoHo, real estate promoters and others came up with several different names for consideration of this newly upscale neighborhood. The name that stuck, as documented in an article on May 5, 1996 in the New York Times City Section debating various monikers for the newly trendy area, was Nolita, an abbreviation for North of Little Italy. AIA Guide to New York City, 2000.
Take the FV train to the 2nd Avenue/Lower East Side stop. When you exit the train, walk west on Houston Street to the Bowery. When you get to the Bowery, turn left (south) and continue along the Bowery. Once you cross over Prince Street, on the east side of the street you’ll see the New Museum. (You can’t miss the Hell Yes! sign out front.) Go in the museum. Admission is $8 for students. There are a few interesting exhibits titled “Museum as Hub: In and Out of Context REDUX”, “A Day Like Any Other”, and “Dream Machine”. Also, be sure you stop by the bookstore as they have a very unique selection.
kazuyo sejima
Once you’ve exhausted the New Museum get back on the Bowery headed south. You’re probably noticing that you’ve passed many kitchen supply stores that cart out all of their merchandise right to the street every morning. Go in one and buy something you need for your kitchen back at Walker Street. When you get to Spring Street, turn right (west). If you’re up for a snack, stop by Pinkberry or Rice to Riches..
steven holl
Turn left on Mulberry Street and a quick right on Kenmare and you’ll see the Storefront for Art + Architecture designed by Steven Holl. It’s closed on Monday, but any other day, go in and see the current exhibition. Through June 26 there is a photography exhibit entitled “Refuge, Five Cities”. When you leave the Storefront, go right and you’ll see a Mexican diner on the corner called “La Esquina”. If you’re hungry, go up to the counter or sit down and have some lunch. They have very good tacos as well as burgers. It’s cheaper if you get take out, but you’ll probably run into some celebrities if you get table service. (You can also wait until you get to Chinatown for lunch!.)
la esquina
From La Esquina, walk down Lafayette to Broome. Head east on Broome (turn left) and continue to Mott Street. Walk down Mulberry Street. This is the Main Street of Little Italy. When you get to Canal Street go east for one block to Mott Street. Turn right (head south) on Mott Street. Mott Street below Canal is considered the Main Street of Chinatown. (If you haven’t eaten yet, this is a good street to find Chinese food.) When you get to Bayard Street, walk east to the Bowery and you’ll be at the base of the Manhattan Bridge. Walk over the Manhattan Bridge if you have time and explore downtown Brooklyn or just look at the views from the bridge, but watch out for bikes! From the Manhattan Bridge, get back on the Bowery headed south to Catherine Street. Walk down Catherine Street towards the water and you’ll see PS 126 at 80 Catherine Street. You can continue down Catherine to the East River Park (under FDR Dr.) If you would like to walk along the water further, go ahead. Otherwise, turn right at Robert Wagner Pl and walk up to Pearl Street. Pearl Street turns left, follow Pearl until you reach Park Row. At 170 Park Row are the Chatham Towers. When you are ready to head back, walk north on Pearl Street to Centre Street and turn left on Centre. Right at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge you’ll find the 456 subway station.
cchatham towers
this is a brunch or early afternoon trip. most stores in SOHO don’t open until 10 or 11am, Since one or more of the buildings you’ll see are commercial property, you’ll need to wait until they open to start your tour.
checklist
rem koolhaas asymptote also rossi bar 89 bathrooms jean nouvel
balthazar MOMA store the apartment puck mckim, mead, + white SHoP Lahore
soho
The 20-odd blocks of SoHo (an acronym for South of Houston) between Canal and Houston Streets, West Broadway and Broadway, contain the city’s quintessential stock of cast-iron-fronted buildings, a high point in urban commercial architectural history. They are, largely, to be noticed not as individual monuments but as parties to whole streets and blocks that, together, make the most glorious urban commercial groupings that New York has ever seen. Mostly Italianate, some might be termed Palladian: they are surprising precursors of Modern exposed structural expression in another material-concrete-seen at Kips Bay Plaza and the American Bible Society. Once these were called Hell’s Hundred Acres because of the many fires in the overcrowded, untended warehouses filled with flammables. Then given over in large part to artists’ (and would-be artists’) studios and housing, the onceempty streets and buildings became a lively, urbane place, much tended and loved, and hence non longer a potential lonely inferno. Huge lofts here give possibility of great space for large paintings or sculptures and equally great space for living. Initially rediscovered by artists, it has since been invaded by those with deep pockets. Prices for lofts have skyrocketed. The richest single street is Greene, then Broome-but wander throughout. Not only the revived architecture but also shops, stores, galleries, and boutiques of elegance and delight abound. SoHo’s boutiques and restaurants are clustered in the northern area of the neighborhood, along Broadway and Prince and Spring streets. The sidewalks in this area are often crowded with tourists and with vendors selling jewelry, t-shirts, and other works, sometimes leaving no space for pedestrians to walk. SoHo is known for its commercialization and eclectic mix of different boutiques for shopping, including Prada, G-Star, Bloomingdale’s, H&M, Marc Jacobs, Chanel, Victoria’s Secret, Puma, Dolce & Gabbana,
Take the R,W train to Prince Street. You’ll exit at Prince and Broadway. (As you walk through Sohoespecially down Broadway-take notice that you are in the Soho Cast Iron Historic District. Within the 26 blocks of this historic district are “ the largest concentration of full and partial cast-iron facades anywhere in the world”.) As soon as you exit the subway, you want to go to the northwest corner of Prince and Broadway and you’ll be at the Prada store. The store was designed by Rem Koolhaas; go inside and look around. Exit the store on Prince and walk west to Greene Street.
rem koolhaas’, prada epicenter
Walk up Greene toward Houston and you’ll see the Alessi showroom designed by Asymptote. Then walk back down Greene Street to Prince Street. (If you want to you can stop in Kid Robot on Prince Street first.) Head east on Princt St.. When you get to Broadway, walk downtown to Aldo Rossi’s Scholastic building. Walk in the building and through to Mercer. Walk downtown on Mercer, cross over Spring and you’ll see Bar 89 on your right. If it’s open, it’s worth ordering something just so you can see the bathrooms, which feature clear glass doors that turn opaque when occupied. You can still see outside from the bathroom, making for an awkward experience (they can’t see you). Continue down Mercer, cross over Broome St. and just before you get to Grand you’ll see the entrance to a very unique parking garage. Look up and you’ll see 40 Mercer, the new luxury condo building by Jean Nouvel. Turn left on Grand and left again on Broadway, making sure you check out the Broadway facade of 40 Mercer and the parking garage.
aldo rossi’s scholastic bldg
asymptote’s alessi building
Diesel, Urban Outfitters, Apple Store, J.Crew, Camper, and Calvin Klein. Yet, the southern part of the neighborhood, along Grand Street and Canal Street, retains some of the feel of SoHo’s earlier days. Canal Street at SoHo’s south boundary contrasts with the former’s posh shopping district in offering electronics and cheap imitation clothing and accessories. AIA Guide to New York City, 2000.
Continue up Broadway to Spring. Stop in at Balthazar for a coffee and a pastry. (And if you want to check out the MOMA store it’s right across the street.) Keep walking up Crosby. Stop by the storefront for The Apartment and check it out. Keep walking up Crosby until you get to Jersey Street. Walk east on Jersey Street (unless the street is closed off to a filming crew, which happens often. Many scenes from film and television shows are filmed here.) and then back up to Houston where you’ll see the Puck building.
the puck building
Across from the Puck Building-where Crate&Barrel is-is the Cable building designed by McKim, Mead & White. Keep walking east on Houston until you get to 290 Mulberry Street, the newly completed high-rise condominiums by SHoP architects. Then walk back west on Houston. If you are hungry, there is a Pakistani place on Crosby Street (right off Houston) called LaHore that has very good lentils and rice. When you are ready to leave Soho walk back west on Houston until you get to the subway entrance for the BDFV.
ShoP’s 290 mulberry
this is a late morning - early afternoon trip.
checklist
union square farmer’s market metronomeis con edison building st. mary’s irving place gramercy park asser levy place
gramercy public housing towers madison square park met life shake shack flatiron lord + taylor geolet
First named Union Place, it served as the crotch of Broadway from the southwest and the Bowery from the southeast-its nickname then was The Forks. Before the Civil War it was a grand residential square, with an ironfenced public park, primarily for the fashionable town house residents surrounding it, much as Gramercy Park (fenced and locked) still is today. In 1854 it blossomed as a new “uptown” theatrical district with the opening of the Academy of Music. That venerable house was on the site of the recent Con Edison Building, opposite the side of a later, namesake Academy (briefly the Palladium), now another NYU dormitory. Union Square later became the center of the political left: here, in August 1927, protesters awaited news of the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti. May Day, the annual celebration of socialism, brought a million to this mecca where the Daily Worker and many other radical publications and organizations abounded. Union Square Park opened to the public in 1839. The park’s raised posture is a later-day event, allowing the subway to snake through its underworld: the original street-level park with romantically curving pathways was then totally rebuilt as a more formal public place. In those early subway times crowds gathered around their favorite debater to heckle, support, or berate him or her. This was New York’s Speakers’ Corner: it became a sacred precinct for soapbox orators and other agitators after police excesses in repressing unemployment rallies in the 1930s. Drug traffickers in the 1960s and 1970s controlled the scene, but the 1986 renovation removed the perimeter screens of green, making all activities within visible and returning the park to a civilized population. The renovation, designed by the Parks Department’s own staff, is the best in anyone’s memory: bold replanning of the entry areas, generous stone detailing, railings in scale (for once!) with a public place (using bulbous malleable iron fittings at joints), punctuated with built-up steel and glass
Take the NQRW or 456 to Union Square, 14th Street. When you exit the subway, you’re in Union Square Park. If you would like take a few minutes to walk around the park. (If you’re there on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday you can check out the Farmer’s Market.)
St. Mary’s
Then go to the southwest corner of Union Square to 1 Union Square South, a post-modernist building that constantly displays the national deficit. The art on the facade is called Metronomeis; it symbolizes intangibility of time. Continue east on 14th Street to Irving Place and go up Irving Place to the Con Edison Building. Irving Plaza is right around the corner. Head east on 15th Street to Stuyvesant Square. At the bottom of Stuyvesant Square, you’ll see St. Mary’s Church on 15th and the Friend’s Meeting house on 16th. Walk west on 16th Street to 3rd Avenue. Go up 3rd Avenue to 18th Street and stop in at Sunburst Espresso for a coffee and snack, if you’re hungry. Continue up 3rd Avenue to 19th Street and turn left on 19th Street. Take note of all of the beautiful homes of various 19th and early 20th century styles between 3rd Avenue and Irving Place. At Irving Place, turn right and continue until you get to Gramercy Park. Turn right on e.20th and then go up Gramercy Park East. At 34 Gramercy Park East is one of the oldest luxury apartment buildings in the city. Head east on 21st Street and make a left on 3rd Avenue to 23rd Street. Take the bus east at 23rd Street and get off at Avenue C/FDR Drive. When you exit the bus, walk up to the public baths at Asser Levy Place.
Friends’ House
kiosks over the subway entrances and for the newsstand, and lighted with ornate multiglobed lamps. The park abounds in sculpture. The ephemeral green market, an idea of architect-planner Barry Benepe, concerns itself with the serious architecture of cheese, legumes, and other edibles. It runs every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday along W.17th Street between Broadway and Park Avenue at the northern edge of Union Square. AIA Guide to New York City, 2000.
Notice the big brutalist towers across FDR Drive standing in stark contrast to the public baths. These apartments, the Waterside, were conceived as government subsidized housing projects, but actually house a mix of income ranges. Get back on the bus at 23rd Street and take it west to Madison Avenue. You are now at Madison Square Park. At the corner of Madison and 23rd Street is the Met Life building. If you are hungry, go into the park and get some lunch at the famous Shake Shack (you may have to wait in a long line).
public baths
On the other side of the park at 23rd Street between 5th Avenue and Broadway is the Flatiron building, named for the triangular shape it takes as influenced by its site. From the Flatiron, walk back down Broadway to the Lord & Taylor and Geolet buildings on the northwest and southwest corners at 20th Street. Finish your tour by walking back down to Union Square Park and take the NQRW or 456.
flatiron building
this will be a guided tour too many buildings to list, but here are a select few
checklist
scandinavia house folk art museum (todd williams + billie tsien) MOMA austrian house New York Times building (renzo piano) Lever House Carnegie Hall
midtown Rockefeller Center St. Patrick’s Cathedral Chrysler Building Empire State Building Grand Central Station Ford Foundation Seagram’s Building
this will be a guided tour
checklist
plaza hotel christial de portzemparc building paul rudolph house central park mall metropolitan museum of art whitney museum guggenheim
upper east side AT+T building (Philip Johnson) black + white cookies
The area’s first development was not residential but, rather, recreational: Central Park. Toward the middle of the last century, a tremendous influx of Irish and German immigrants, dislocated by economic and political turmoil in their homeland, was straining the City’s resources. Reformers were pressuring for a great public park to serve a population expected to grow even further. In the 1850s Mayor Fernando Wood and his Tammany Hall cronies foresaw the construction of the park as an opportunity to create enormous numbers of patronage positions among the new electorate. And the park’s central site would neatly divide upper Manhattan into twin development opportunities: the rough terrain of the West Side (to be reserved for later) and the relatively flat East Side. The latter was made more accessible from downtown by cutting through Madison and Lexington Avenues as additions to the original gridiron street plan of 1811. The first transit connections from downtown were horsecar lines along Second, Third, and Madison Avenues and steam trains (including local service) along today’s Park Avenue. Not surprisingly, the first row house development, during the 1860s and until the Panic of 1873, followed these routes of opportunity,. The late 1870s brought the Second and Third Avenue elevated lines from downtown-mass transit. With it came the masses, housed in an explosive development of tenements-many of which remain-in the area’s eastern flank. The elegant associations with the term Upper East Side are relatively recent. To those who could afford them, Park Avenue’s steam trains provided accessibility but also brought smoke and noise, thus creating an “other side of the tracks” opportunity. Beginning in the 1890s, between Park Avenue and Central Park, a corridor formed that attracted capitalists from downtown residential enclaves, such as lower Fifth Avenue and Gramercy Park, to costly
sites along Fifth Avenue-the Gold Coast-and to lesser ones along the side streets and brownstone-lines Madison Avenue. East of Park Avenue huddled a mixture of row houses, stables, and carriage houses-truly the other side of the tracks. Most of the mansions built at the turn of the century along Fifth (except those now used largely as museums) were demolished in two waves of high-rise luxury apartment development, the first in the Roaring Twenties, the second following World War II. In response to the first building boom, Madison Avenue’s brownstones were altered to provide neighborhood shops and services for an expanding number of affluent apartment dwellers. Gracie Square and parts of East End Avenue then also saw apartment development. The post-World War II boom (to the east signaled by the 1956 demolition of the grim Third Avenue el structure) has extended-with gasps for air-to the present day. It transformed practically every Upper East Side development site into a pot of gold and turned Madison Avenue into the ultrachic shopping street for wealthy Americans-and internationals as well. AIA Guide to New York City, 2000.
this will be a guided tour
checklist
Hearst Tower Columbus Circle MAD Museum Lincoln Center Juliard School Brownstones Museum of Natural History
upper west side The Dakota The Ansonia Clairmont riding academy Central Park
In a way the Upper West Side is as much a state of mind as a place to live: a successor to Greenwich Village as a magnet for those in the vanguard of cultural or social action and also-particularly today-political action. Early Manhattan’s development was confined mostly below and to the east of Central Park; the latecomer West blossomed during a period of substantial immigration of urbane Europeans. That population, culturally crossbred with adventurous local migrants, and served by equally adventurous developers, created a mix of people and buildings with a flavor distinct from that of the East. The West once owed as much to the imported culture of Vienna, Berlin, and Budapest as to the enterprising patronage of those such as Singer Sewing Machine heir Edward Severin Clark. His Dakota Apartments at 72nd Street became a social outpost so remote from The 400 that it was considered the geographical equivalent-in New York terms-of the Dakota Territory. Whereas Greenwich Village became a Bohemian haven and a crucible for the individual painter, sculptor, writer, or poet-a place of rebellion and artistic creativity-the West Side is a nexus of group art concerts, opera, theater, and film-the cultural mecca for national as well as New York audiences. Here live a major portion of those who fill those many stages, intermingled with a locally passionate audience. Perhaps passion is a local character trait, not only of those who perform or savor performance but also of a vast group of political activists who voice their community and national concerns with a vigor unequaled elsewhere in the city. But how did it all begin? After the English “conquest” of New Amsterdam in 1664, Richard Nicolls was appointed governor by the Duke of York to oversee his new proprietary colony. Nicolls not only honored dutch property owners and landlords already in place but also granted vast tracts to new patentees. The Thousand Acre Tract, bounded by the Hudson and (roughly)
modern 50th Street, 89th Street and Sixth Avenue, now the heart of the Upper West Side, was divided into ten lots and granted to four Dutchmen and one Englishman. In its original verdant state the area was known as Bloomingdale, honored by its nominal association with a flower-growing region near Haarlem named Bloemendael. The Bloomingdale Road followed a serpentine Indian trail that also produced the meandering alignment of much of Broadway. As a northern extension of Lower Manhattan’s principal street, it was the road to Albany, a commercial route whose scale after widening (1868-1871) allowed its ultimate potential to be planned. And so, it was briefly renamed The Boulevard until 1899, when buildings such as The Ansonia, The Belnord, The Apthorp, and The Belleclaire would begin to fulfill these plans. It was not until public transportation had penetrated these precincts that serious development occurred. Although horsecars had reached West 84th Street by 1864, the Ninth Avenue elevated did nor arrive until 1879, with stations at 72nd, 81st, 93rd, and 104th Streets (others were added later). Clark’s almost simultaneous construction of the Dakota (1880-1884) was an equal inspiration and stimulus. New buildings centered on these nodes at first, with developers uncertain about the City’s intentions to level and grade the streets and to evict squatters and shanty owners. But by 1886, a boom had occurred, as related grandiloquently in the Times. “The West side of the city presents just now a scene of building activity such as was never before witnessed in that section, and which gives promise of the speedy disappearance of all the shanties in the neighborhood and the rapid population of this long neglected part of New York. The huge masses of rock which formerly met the eye usually crowned by a rickety shanty and a browsing goat, are being blasted out of existence. Streets are being graded, and thousands of carpenters and masons are engaged in rearing substantial buildings where a year ago nothing was to be seen but market gardens or barren rocky fields.” AIA Guide to New York City, 2000.
this is a morning trip. leave by 9am
checklist
shabazz marcus garvey park firetower studio museum the apollo harlem infill project morningside park
harlem st. john’s koronet columbia university lerner hall libraries avery hall grant’s tomb
morningside
North of Cathedral Parkway, Central Park North and 110th Street, for the most part, lie the areas of Morningside and Hamilton Heights, Harlem, and East Harlem, the last extending southward to 97th Street east of Park Avenue. The Heights precincts are known for their college complexes-Columbia, Barnard, Teachers, the seminaries below the 125th Street valley, and CCNY above it; the Harlems are the city’s best-known black and Hispanic ghettos. All four areas offer relics of the past, signs of revitalization as well as of decay, and a display of diverse lifestyles that reflect their varied populations. There is much to tempt the eye...and the mind. In other cities the ghettos either radiate from the oldest and most dilapidated neighborhoods or are relegated to the wrong side of town, where they sorely lack transportation and social facilities. But Harlem became New York’s black ghetto when its housing was relatively new. Here we find churches and institutions set on wide boulevards or facing well-designed parks and plazas. Three major subway lines give Harlem access to other parts of the city. The openIng of the New York and Harlem Railroad in 1837 marks the beginning of Harlem’s development as a suburb for the well-to-do. The extension of tHh elevated to Harlem in 1879 was followed by the construction of tenement houses along the routes of the els and apartment houses-some on a lavish scale-along the better avenues. These were augmented by schools, clubs, theaters, and commercial buildings. During the 1920s, a great influx of blacks, instead of being allowed to spread, was bottled up in this area. THe privations of the Great Depression, the inadequacy of public and private measures to deal with poverty, and the failures of urban renewal further burdened Harlem and its people. In spit of exploitation, neglect, and the passing of time, Harlem has survived as one of New York’s places of interest. fine patrician rows of private houses and excellent churches,
Take the 2,3 to the 116th Street stop. You’ll exit the subway on Lenox Avenue, also known as Malcolm X Boulevard. You’re in Harlem. Despite the stereotypes, this is a very friendly neighborhood where you rarely come accross trouble, especially during the day. Right at the subway station is the Malcolm Shabazz Mosque at 102 w.116th Street. Continue up Lenox Avenue to 120th Street. At 120th Street, turn right (east) and walk until you get to Marcus Garvey Park. There are some really spectacular brownstones surrounding the park. Until about 20 years ago, this neighborhood had been left relatively untouched, but the area has seen a large influx of a more affluent population, and with it, a process of gentrification. These houses have dramatically increased in value in the past five - ten years. Also, be sure you see the firetower in the park. This is where firefighters used to stand lookout for fires in the city. They’d send off a horse-drawn wagon and attempt to put out the fires with buckets of water.
grant’s tomb
tschumi
Walk all the way up to 124th Street along the park (you can explore the side streets too) and at 124th Street turn left (west) until you get to the Studio Museum of Harlem. For students they have a suggested donation of $3. If you have time and are interested, go check out the museum. Once you exit the museum, turn right (north) on 7th Avenue and then at 125th Street, also called Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, turn left (head west). 125th Street is the Main Street of Harlem. At 125th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues, you’ll find the famous Apollo Theatre. Continue on 125th Street to Manhattan Avenue. Turn left (south) on Manhattan Avenue to 115th Street. At 314 115th Street, you’ll see the Harlem Infill Project by Loci Architecture.
marcus garvey park
communal buildings, and commercial blocks-which “progress� has erased from more fashionable neighborhoodssurvive in Harlem, long neglected, but now much renewed with a return of a well-to-do black middle class, and the general affluence of the late 1990s. After years of false starts, Harlem began to see rapid gentrification in the late 1990s. This was driven by changing federal and city policies, including fierce crime-fighting and a concerted effort to develop the retail corridor on 125th Street. Starting in 1994, the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone funneled money into new developments. The number of housing units in Harlem increased 14% between 1990 and 2000. The rate of increase has been much more rapid in recent years. Property values in Central Harlem increased nearly 300% during the 1990s, while the rest of the City saw only a 12% increase. Even empty shells of buildings in the neighborhood were, as of 2007, routinely selling for nearly $1,000,000 each. Since completing his second term in the White House in 2001, former U.S. President Bill Clinton has maintained his office at 55 West 125th Street. AIA Guide to New York City, 2000.
Cut through Morningside Park, walking up the park stairs (it’s a short, steep hill), exit along Morningside Drive. Take a peek back down from the park. You get a great view of the north side of the city where Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx meet. Continue south on Morningside to 115th Street. On 115th Street between Morningside Drive and Amsterdam, you’ll see St. Luke’s Hospital. From St. Luke’s continue south on Amsterdam avenue until you see the cathedral of St. John on your left between 112th and 110th st. This Gothic styled chuch is as beautiful on the inside as it is seen from the street. Its very interesting site, being on steep hillside, made initial construction (and the recent renovations) very painstaking. At the corner of 110th and Amsterdam, if you look closely, you’ll see a bar called 1020. This is one of the local spots for the Columbia students and faculty. They have happy hour from 4-7 every day and open early to show world cup matches. Walk west on 110th to Broadway. You’ll notice all of the new student housing built for Columbia. Stop at a place called Koronet for pizza (right around the corner to your right) and prepare yourself for the largest slice of pizza you’ve ever seen. If you’re hungry, order a ‘jumbo slice’. Continue north on Broadway. You’ll pass a decent music store called ‘Kim’s’. At 114th st, Columbia University’s main campus (designed by Mckim, Mead and White) begins. Enter at 116th st at the main gates of campus. Turn right (after you walk past the first building) and continue back south to Lerner Hall, the Bernard Tschumi’s designed student union building. If you ask nicely and tell them you’re architecture students they will probably let you inside to check out the fantastic ‘in-between’ space along the interior of the facade.
the apollo
strivers row
Beside Lerner is Butler library. Almost every building on this campus contains its own library, but this is the workhorse. Looking accross the quad, you’ll see the Low library, the icon of the campus (ironically, not used as a library anymore). You’ve seen this in countless movies. Just beyond the library (to its right) is St. Paul’s chapel and a bit further down the way you’ll see Avery hall. This is the architecture building. Crammed inside are all of the graduate architecture and urban design studios (on 7 floors) as well as the world’s largest architectural library. (ever use of the Avery index for a book search?) You’ll need special permission to wander around the library, but you can usually go unnoticed through the rest of the building. Ask around for summer lectures...you might get lucky and see a star architect. Exit campus where you entered and walk west to Riverside drive. More beautifully preserved homes here. Continue north on Riverside until 122nd st where you’ll find Grant’s Tomb. Two options here: You can continue to 125th st and enter the subway there (at broadway). You’ll see a cool iron bridge that the subway runs along. Or you can walk back to broadway and 116th st and get on the subway there. Either way, when you are ready to leave, take the 1 train downtown to Franklin and you’re home.
this will be a guided tour.
checklist
civic center synagogue engine co 31 tobacco warehouse federal office building park row brooklyn bridge + subway south street seaport
downtown potter building brooklyn bridge downtown brooklyn brooklyn heights brooklyn bridge park dumbo water taxi
brooklyn
The independent City of Brooklyn moved quickly to give form to its identity by building a city hall, which still stands as its seat of borough affairs. As the 19th century progressed, Brooklyn’s population and wealth grew, and so did its civic center. With city hall as the focus, there soon emerged a variety of richly embellished governmental and commercial buildings, hotels, and shopping emporia. But to a visitor to Downtown Brooklyn during this of expansion, the most apparent features were not its richly ornamented buildings but the spindly iron trestles that inundated many of its major streets, throwing zebra-striped shadows. For this part of Brooklyn was to be not only the city’s hub of government and shopping but of transportation as well, and the elevated crisscrossing overhead made their way down to Fulton Street and Myrtle Avenue to their connections to Manhattan. It was not until after World War II that the elevated filigrees were demolished and today’s Cadman Plaza Park built. Colonized by well-to-do merchants and bankers from the city across the river, Brooklyn Heights is the suburban product of a combined land and transit speculation; in this case the transit was the new steam-powered ferry. With the new ferry it was quicker and easier to go from Fulton Street (Brooklyn) to Fulton Street (Manhattan) than to travel by omnibus to Manhattan Island. This status continued until the New York and Harlem Railroad provided a route to the northern “frontier”: in 1832 horsecars linked the distant town of Harlem, and in 1837 steam trains crossed the Harlem River to Westchester. A surveyor’s grid marked the Heights into 25- x 100-foot lots as the system for parcel sales. Although other subdivisions were made by speculators, those dimensions remain the basic module of the Heights. That the oldest buildings (such as 155-159 Willow Street) were built in the 1820s is not surprising. Lots did not come on the market until 1819, and even as late as 1807
there had been but 7 houses on the Heights, with perhaps 20 more at or near the ferry landing at the river’s edge below. By 1890 the infill was substantially complete, and the architectural history of the Heights primarily spans those seventy years. Occasional buildings were built much later in random locations, but the principal pre-1890 urban fabric was still intact in 1965, when the district was designated a historic district under the city’s newly enacted Landmarks’ Preservation Law. Vacant lots on Willow Place afforded architects Joseph and Mary Merz a chance to add buildings in serious modern architectural terms, but within the scale of the surrounding environment. These, plus a few others, have extended (with the approval of the Landmarks’ Preservation Commission) a previously truncated architectural history to the present. Brooklyn Heights was the first district to be designated (1965) under the Landmarks’ Preservation Law-a logical choice, as the Heights was the city’s foremost, discrete, and substantially intact enclave of architecture. AIA Guide to New York City, 2000.
a fun and beautiful neighborhood to check out if you have some free time
checklist
grand army plaza botanical garden BAM! prospect park gorilla coffee russo’s YMCA @ 15th + 8th
park slope dub pies terrace bagels parco friend’s pizza toby’s ale house brooklyn design lab stone park cafe
A somber-hued wonderland of finials, pinnacles, pediments, towers, turrets, bay windows, stoops, and porticoes: a smorgasbord of late Victorian and the successor to the Heights and the Hill as the bedroom of the middle class and wealthy. These three districts are together the prominent topographical precincts of old brownstone Brooklyn: the Heights sits atop a bluff over the harbor, the Hill is a major crest to the northeast, and the Slope slopes from Prospect Park down to the Gowanus Canal and the flatlands beyond. Despite its proximity to the park, the area was slow to develop. As late as 1884 it was still characterized as “fields and pasture”. Edwin C. Litchfield’s Italianate villa, completed in 1857, alone commanded the prospect of the harbor from its hill in present-day Prospect Park. By 1871 the first stage of the park had been constructed, yet the Slope lay quiet and tranquil, bypassed by thousands of persons making their way on the Flatbush Avenue horsecars to this newly created recreation area. By the mid 1880s, however, the potential of the Slope became apparent, and mansions began to appear on the newly laid out street grid. The lavish homes clustered around Plaza Street and Prospect Park West eventually were christened the Gold Coast. Massive apartment buildings invaded the area after World War I, feeding upon the large, unutilized plots of land occupied by the first growth. Theses austere Park Avenue-like structures, concentrated at Grand Army Plaza, are in contrast to the richly imaginative brick dwellings of Carroll Street and Montgomery Place, the mansions, churches, and clubs that still remain, and the remarkably varied row houses occupying the side streets as they descend toward the Manhattan skyline to the west. AIA Guide to New York City, 2000.
checklist
Pratt Institute Steven Holl’s Higgins Hall building Fort Greene Park locanda vini olii (for a nice dinner)
fort greene
Fort Greene and Clinton Hill rank with Cobble Hill and Boerem Hill as rediscovered sectors of urban delight. Clustering around Fort Greene Park and Pratt Institute are blocks of distinguished brownstones, many mansions, and a surprisingly rich inventory of churches and other institutions. The communities’ edges at Fulton Street, Flatbush Avenue, and along the old Navy Yard are roughened by cheap commercial areas and by neighborhoods of urban renewal still in flux. But the body is, for the most part, solid and handsome. The late 1990s and early 2000s saw the influx of many new residents and businesses to Fort Greene. While issues of gentrification are raised, Fort Greene stands to many as one of the best examples of a truly racially and economically diverse neighborhood with what The New York Times referred to as a “prevailing sense of racial amity that intrigues sociologists and attracts middle-class residents from other parts of the city.” The controversial Atlantic Yards project to build a stadium for and relocate the New Jersey Nets (which would become the Brooklyn Nets) along with a complex of large commercial and residential high-rises on the border of Fort Greene and Prospect Heights - the “Barclays Center” has garnered opposition from many neighborhood residents. AIA Guide to New York City, 2000.
checklist
north 6 mccarren park condo’s enid’s (southern cuisine) boneshakers williamsburg music hall greenpoint polish culture
williamsburg
Though it shares its current spelling with the well-known restoration in Virginia, the resemblance ends there. This Williamsburg, formerly part of the Town of Bushwick, later a village and city in its own right, was named after Col. Jonathon Williams, its surveyor and grandnephew of Benjamin Franklin. Richard M. Woodhull started the community when he purchased thirteen acres of land at the foot of today’s South 2nd Street, in 1802. He commissioned Williams to survey it, established a ferry to New York (Manhattan), and quickly went bankrupt (1811). Thomas Morrell and James Hazard picked up where Woodhull had left off. They also established a ferry, this time to the Grand Street Market at Corlear’s Hook, providing an outlet for the farmers of Bushwick to sell their produce in New York. The impetus to the area’s growth, however, was he establishment of a distillery in 1819. The distillery is gone (as is the Schaefer brewery that followed it on the same site). Booze an beer helped build Williamsburg but now are only drunk here, not distilled or brewed. The most telling impact on the community came from the opening of the Williamsburg Bridge in 1903. Overnight the community changed from a fashionable resort with hotels catering to the wellto-do to an immigrant district absorbing the overflow from New York’s Lower East Side. (The New York Tribune of the period characterized the bridge as “The Jew’s Highway.”) Its elegant families moved away, and its mansions and handsome brownstones from the post-Civil War era fell into disuse and then were converted to multiple dwellings. During the last twenty years, Williamsburg has become home to a new set of “immigrants.” In the Northside, artists discovered the low rents and large light-filled lofts of former factories, joining already established Italian and Polish immigrants. Galleries, restaurants and shops opened, catering to these new residents. Recently, real estate has been booming. Long-abandoned factories are
being converted to expensive condominiums and apartments. New construction of high-rise buildings is changing the face of the neighborhood. Although there is growing concern among the residents that their complex, diverse, and affordable neighborhood is fast disappearing, positive change is on the way. The waterfront, fallen into neglect, will soon be revitalized. With both community and growing city support, there is opposition to the siting of additional power plants and solid waste companies. In May 2005, New York City approved zoning changes that would allow for open spaces, parks, affordable housing and light industry. AIA Guide to New York City, 2000.
checklist
ikea plaza waterfront park the ‘R’ sign steve’s pies baked columbia st. deFonte’s sandwich shop
red hook red hook park
The Dutch established the village of Red Hook (Roode Hoek) in 1636. Red Hook was one of the earliest areas in Brooklyn to be settled. The area was named for its red clay soil and the hook shape of its peninsular corner of Brooklyn that projects into the East River. A map from the 1760s shows a developed village at a time when there was little else in Brooklyn. In the 1850s the Atlantic Basin opened and Red Hook became one of the busiest ports in the country. Grain barges from the Erie Canal would wait at the mouth of the Gowanus Canal for their turn at the active piers. Today, Red Hook is one of the few areas of South Brooklyn full of small manufacturing and service companies. It is a great location to gather for sunset and as a prime viewing location for the parade of ships during Fleet Week and Op Sail. The neighborhood has become a mecca for artists and artisans. Stunning waterfront views clash with urban decay. Gowanus Bay and New York Harbor offer amazing visuals. Tugboats ply the area, passing through the narrow entrance to Gowanus Bay on the way to their berths. Recently, Red Hook has experienced massive change, with over 40 dockings planned in Red Hook this year alone. The neighborhood is already becoming a tourist destination with stories appearing in publications throughout the US and the world. It is only a matter of time before Van Brunt Street sees major changes to the type of businesses along the thoroughfare. Fairway, which opened its first Brooklyn location within the first two floors of the 1869 structure originally built to warehouse coffee, is the first major change to the business community in Red Hook. Greg O’Connell has been a driving force within the neighborhood and is seeing his dream come true. Just around the bend is IKEA and the IKEA plaza along the Red Hook waterfront.
A new service water taxi service connects Red Hook with Brooklyn Heights, Wall Street, and Midtown. The water taxi is one of the first steps toward reconnecting South Brooklyn. The area’s history revolves around the water and the waterfront, and with new growth coming, the waterfront will thrive once more. © 2010 www.thewaterfrontmuseum.org © 2010 www..southbrooklyn.net
checklist
gowanus
site